NNPCL Commences 14,000bpd Condensates Production from Akpo Field
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, on Wednesday, announced the successful commencement of 14,000 barrels per day condensates production from the Akpo West Field.
It said this was in line with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to the national oil company to optimise production from the nation’s oil and gas assets.
“The milestone, which is the result of meticulous planning, strategic collaboration, and unwavering dedication from all stakeholders involved in the project, will add 14,000 barrels per day condensates to the nation’s production,” NNPCL stated in a statement issued in Abuja.
Condensates are natural gas liquids that are extracted from natural gas reservoirs or produced alongside crude oil.
They are essentially very light hydrocarbons that exist in a liquid state at atmospheric pressure and temperature, unlike natural gas which is mostly methane and exists as a gas.
NNPCL said the production of condensates would be followed up by the production of about four million cubic meters of gas per day by 2028.
It said the development of Akpo West which is on Petroleum Mining Lease 2 (formerly OML 130), leverages the existing Akpo Floating Production Storage and Offloading facility via a subsea tie-back to keep costs low and minimise greenhouse gas emissions.
It said the milestone was enabled by the leadership of the Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPCL, Mele Kyari, and the upstream directorate of the company, whose support played no small role in propelling the operators to actualise the short and mid-term hydrocarbon production goal of the government.
Located 135km offshore, Akpo West is one of the discoveries on PML 2 with proximity to the Akpo main which started up in 2009 and produced 124,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2023.
PML 2 is operated by TotalEnergies with a 24 per cent interest, in partnership with CNOOC (45 per cent), Sapetro (15 per cent), Prime 130 (16 per cent), and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited as the concessionaire of the Production Sharing Contract.
Condensates which is being produced by the field, are formed in two ways. It could be formed as associated condensate, which is produced alongside crude oil in oil reservoirs.
For as the pressure in the reservoir decreases during production, some of the lighter hydrocarbons condense into a liquid form.
It could also come as non-associated condensate, which is found in natural gas reservoirs with little or no crude oil. When the pressure and temperature of the gas are reduced at the surface, the heavier hydrocarbons condense into a liquid.
Condensates have a variety of applications, which include refinery feedstock, as they are used to produce gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, and other refined products.
They serve as diluent for heavy oil, as condensates can be mixed with heavy crude oil to make it easier to transport through pipelines.
They serve as petrochemical feedstock. Some condensates are used to produce ethylene, which is a key building block for many plastics and other chemicals.
