Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, listed on both the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE) has signed a Crude Purchase Agreement (CPA) with Waltersmith Petroman Oil Limited (Waltersmith).
The agreement is for the supply of between 2,000 and 4,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) from existing working-interest production at the Ohaji South Field within Oil Mining Lease (OML) 53, for Waltersmith’s new 5,000 bopd modular refinery at Ibigwe Field, in Imo State.
Previously, Seplat’s share of Ohaji South crude was primarily evacuated to the export Terminal via a third-party Crude Handling Agreement with Waltersmith.
This new agreement benefits Seplat by selling its crude oil directly to Waltersmith for refining, thereby eliminating crude losses and downtime experienced along the evacuation and export route.
The transaction would also boost the capacity of Waltersmith in providing its products particularly to the immediate region of our operations thereby supporting Seplat’s commitment to national energy security.
Seplat maintains its guidance of 48,000 to 52,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (bopd) for the 2020 financial year.Chief Executive of Seplat, Roger Brown, said: “We are delighted to sign this Crude Purchase Agreement with Waltersmith as it ensures that Nigerian crude will be refined locally by a Nigerian refiner.
“The agreement will eliminate losses we previously experienced in the export pipeline, meaning more revenue will be booked by Seplat for the same amount of oil produced from the field. Waltersmith’s refinery will also benefit the Nigerian economy by creating local jobs to refine our oil.”