Page 6 - AfrOil Week 34 2021

AfrOil INVESTMENT AfrOil

Lukoil looks to expand Nigerian footprint

NIGERIA LUKOIL, Russia’s largest privately owned oil agreement in 2019, pledging to work together
company, has expressed interest in expanding on several new projects, including gas-to-power
its operations in Nigeria. (GTP) initiatives and the rehabilitation of the
Ivan Ramanovsky, the Russian operator’s Warri oil refinery.
vice-president for West Africa, Europe and Lukoil is already active in Nigeria through its
America, said last week during a meeting with operatorship of OML 140, an ultra-deepwater
Abdullahi Shehu, Nigeria’s ambassador to block that lies about 145 km from the coast in
Moscow, that Lukoil had the financial capacity the Gulf of Guinea. This licence area encom-
to support additional projects in Nigeria. The passes the Ofigbo, Nsiko and Nsiko North dis-
company is interested in establishing partner- coveries, as well as a portion of a unitised field
ships with Nigerian companies, he told Shehu. known as Bonga Southwest Aparo.
Ramanovsky did not say whether Lukoil was The Russian company joined the project in
eyeing any particular fields or looking to co-op- 2014, after buying a 45% stake in the block from
erate with any specific Nigerian firm. But he did a subsidiary of Chevron (US). Chevron has
say that the Russian operator was willing to team retained a 55% equity stake in OML 140, while
up with both corporate and individual investors NNPC and another Nigerian company are car-
to explore new opportunities. ried partners. ™
Shehu responded by expressing appreciation
for Lukoil’s show of interest. He also urged Rus-
sian oil executives to arrange for visits to Nige-
ria, saying that face-to-face visits would help the
Russian side develop a better understanding of
the country and its risk level. Establishing local
connections will also help Russian companies
gain access to Nigeria’s large markets, he said.
The meeting between Ramanovsky and
Shehu built on a previous agreement between
Lukoil and Nigerian National Petroleum Corp.
(NNPC), the national oil company (NOC)
of Nigeria. The two companies signed the The Russian company operates OML 140 offshore Nigeria (Image: Lukoil)

PERFORMANCE
NOC says Libya’s hydrocarbon

revenues reached $2.05bn in July

LIBYA LIBYA’S state-owned National Oil Corp. (NOC) maintain crude oil output above the 1mn barrel
earned revenues of $2.05bn from crude oil, nat- per day (bpd) level since November 2020, and
ural gas and petrochemicals sales in July 2021, production hit 1.3mn bpd in April. Hopes of a
as a result of growing output and favourable oil recovery in production have risen following the
prices. formation of a national unity government in
The vast majority of the country’s hydrocar- mid-March, as this development ended a split
bon revenues, or $1.96bn, came from crude oil between duelling factions.
sales, with a further $81mn coming from sales NOC aims to raise output to 1.45mn bpd by
of gas and condensate. Meanwhile, revenues the end of 2021 and to 1.6mn bpd within two
from petroleum product sales stood at $3.37mn years and 2.1mn bpd within four years. It plans
in July, while petrochemical revenues reached to bring new oilfields on stream in the coming
$2.79mn. months in the basins of Sirte, in the central part
All of the refined fuels produced locally in of the country, and Ghadames in the west.
were channelled to the domestic market, NOC However, these plans are not ambitious
added. enough, according to central bank governor
Libya, an OPEC member, has managed to Saddek El Kaber.

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