Heirs Energy producing 51,000 barrels of oil from OML-17 – Elumelu

The Chairman of Heirs Energies, Tony Elumelu, has disclosed the company’s turnaround production at its OML-17 oil well after facing challenges in the early days of its acquisition.

He said he was able to turn around the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 17 in 100 days upon acquiring the 45 per cent majority equity in 2021.

Recall that Shell, Total and Eni each sold stakes in the OML 17 field, which has a production capacity of 27,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and estimated reserves of 1.2 billion barrels of oil.

Speaking in Abuja during the 3rd anniversary of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) themed ‘Transformation, Innovation and Excellence’, Elumelu stated that in the first 100 days after taking over operational control of OML-17 assets in 2021, “We doubled our production from 28,000 to over 50,000 barrels per day.”

He, however, said it suffered a setback with unabated crude theft, which caused a shut-in, adding that the company would work with the NNPC Limited to better secure the pipeline system.

“From a low of 5% terminal receipts in December 2021, year-to-date in 2024, we have recorded an average terminal receipt of 85%; a remarkable improvement and a good example of what a purposeful collaboration between NNPCL and operators underpinned by rigorous execution can deliver,” he added.

He said with the improvement in the operating environment, “we have restarted our investment and production growth journey, and have now successfully reversed the fall in production that we suffered in 2022 and 2023, as a consequence of the evacuation challenges.”

“A few days ago, OML-17 attained over 51,000 barrels per day, and we continue our production growth journey.

“Relatedly, we are also working to grow our gas production that feeds many power generation plants and gas-based industries.”

Elumelu said the achievements “Indicate what is possible, where there is a strong industry collaboration, and in particular when regulatory support meets private sector drive and innovation.”