In a move that will significantly reduce Nigeria’s crude evacuation challenges, Green Energy International Limited (GEIL) has unveiled its $400 million Otakikpo oil terminal, the first of its kind to be built by any private indigenous oil company in the country.
The unveiling of the facility located near the Ogoni and Opobo fields in Rivers state, also represents an opportunity for over 40 stranded fields around the area to contribute to the Nigerian economy.
A huge volume of Nigeria’s oil in the Niger Delta is stranded, without any evacuation route for export. This issue significantly affects the country’s ability to monetise its oil resources and has serious economic, operational, and security implications.
With 750,000 barrels of oil storage capacity (expandable to 3 million barrels) and 360,000 barrels per day pumping capability, the terminal offers a secure and efficient evacuation route for the oil reserves in the region. Designed to handle up to 250,000 barrels per day of crude injection, the facility presents an opportunity for third-party producers, fostering economic inclusion and job creation in the Niger Delta.
Another advantage of the facility is that the Otakikpo terminal is within 6 kilometres to 13 kilometres distance from the Opobo and Ogoni fields, which are more than 60 kilometres from the nearest evacuation and export infrastructure.
Speaking when the company took journalists and members of the Independent Petroleum Producer Group (IPPG) on a tour of the project, Chairman of Green Energy, Prof Anthony Adegbulugbe, said the humongous facility was completed two years before the scheduled time.
He paid homage to the hardworking Green Energy staff and service providers, who worked tirelessly on the Otakikpo onshore terminal, the first of such to be constructed in decades in Nigeria.
“It is noteworthy that more than 90 per cent of the contract value of this national asset was handled by indigenous contractors, and the beautiful edifices and civil works were constructed by the king of the community, the Okan-Ama of Ikuru town. A proud Andoni King, a lover of his people,” he stated.
While praising all those who made the project a reality, Adegbulugbe stated that despite the challenges, there was not a day of rancour or complaints, noting that one of the companies, WAV, together with the technical team weathered all the challenges and delivered against all.
“This historic and critical national infrastructure was delivered ahead of schedule in what I believe is a clear statement of intent by our country and Nigerian indigenous E& P companies to the international community that Nigeria is ready to play a leading role in the global energy security and its own prosperity. It is proof that Nigerian companies can execute world-class projects, drive industry transformation, and set new benchmarks for operational excellence.
“To me, to my company, to the community, to our dear country, this terminal represents more than steel and storage tanks, more than pumps and generators, more than marine export infrastructure. It represents hope—the belief that Nigeria’s oil industry can be fully indigenous, execute world class projects and drive industry transformation.
“It represents opportunity—an open door for over 40 stranded fields to finally contribute to our economy. It represents a promise—a promise to the communities that host the Ogoni and Opobo assets that their resources will not be neglected for one more day,” he said.
He argued that it will be difficult for Nigeria to increase daily crude production to above 3 million barrels per day without debottlenecking the country’s E&P’s upstream & midstream infrastructure.
To achieve this goal, the NNPC and indigenous operators, he said, must forge an unbreakable alliance to quickly and efficiently unleash the full potential of our country’s resources.
“My company has identified five more of these terminals that must be rapidly constructed to support the realisation of the renewed hope agenda of Mr. President. In providing these infrastructure, GEIL is desperate to partner with NNPC to seize the moment and redefine what it means to be a global energy leader,”Adegbulugbe said.
He added that the Otakikpo terminal was proof that Nigeria is capable of achieving great things, explaining that for now, it is up to the industry, to policymakers and to investors to take this momentum forward.
In an interview, the Executive Secretary of the IPPG, Oyeleke Banmeke, noted that the completion of the facility was nothing short of a miracle, noting that executives of the organisation were very impressed with what they saw.
“ It’s shocking that we have a terminal, an onshore terminal, that can take 250,000 barrels of oil a day. And, you know, we talk about energy security every time. We talk about oil production growth. But we’ve never talked about the infrastructure to manage it. And if you look at it, we have an infrastructure deficit across the entire value chain for the oil and gas industry.
“ What it has done for us is to ensure reliability. It has helped us to ensure availability and finally, resilience of the infrastructure. So when I talk about availability, I’m talking about having enough evacuation to the export market. When I talk about reliability, we’re talking about security issues,” he stressed.
Describing it as very remarkable, he agreed that evacuation remains a major challenge in the oil sector, explaining that Nigeria needs more of such infrastructure to access the global market.
Emmanuel Addeh
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