By Obas Esiedesa, Abuja
Nigeria’s crude oil production costs are expected to decline with the commissioning of the new $400 million Otakikpo onshore crude oil export terminal in Andoni, Rivers State.
The 750,000-barrel capacity facility, developed by Green Energy International Limited (GEIL), operator of the Otakikpo field PML 11, will be inaugurated next week by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. It is projected to provide a cost-efficient evacuation route for more than 40 stranded oil fields in the region.
In a statement signed by GEIL’s Executive Director of Legal and Corporate Services, Mr. Olusegun Ilori, the company explained that the project aligns with the Tinubu administration’s drive to boost oil production and strengthen Nigeria’s energy infrastructure.
The Otakikpo terminal is notable as the first indigenous onshore terminal developed solely by a Nigerian company, and the first crude export terminal built in the country in over 50 years. The last was the Forcados Terminal, commissioned in 1971.
The inauguration will be attended by Rivers State Governor Sir Siminalayi Fubara, top federal government officials, and key industry stakeholders led by the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri.
Industry operators have long identified evacuation bottlenecks as a major challenge to achieving the Federal Government’s target of producing three million barrels of crude oil per day. The new terminal is expected to serve as a lifeline to otherwise stranded oil fields, unlocking millions of barrels for export.
The facility will start with a storage capacity of 750,000 barrels, expandable to three million barrels, and a loading capacity of 360,000 barrels per day.
Chairman/CEO of Green Energy, Professor Anthony Adegbulugbe, described the achievement as transformative: “What we have achieved here is not just a storage solution, but a game-changing national infrastructure that has opened a new pathway for about 40 stranded oil fields to finally contribute to the economy.”
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