Oriental Energy Resources (OERL) has announced the naming of the EMEM floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel at the Dry Docks World Dubai shipyard in the United Arab Emirates.
The naming ceremony was attended by the Vice President of Nigeria, Kashim Shettima, who represented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, while the Founder and Chairman of OERL, Dr. Muhammadu Indimi, led representatives from Drydocks World Dubai and other essential suppliers to the construction of the innovative FPSO.
The EMEM FPSO will sail from Dubai to the field in the first quarter of 2025, where it will be integrated with the already installed Well Head Platform (WHP) and five production wells. First oil from the field is anticipated to be produced in the first half of 2025 and will mark the first project fully independently developed and delivered by OERL following its decision to assume direct operational responsibility for its assets.
Tribune Online reports that Oriental’s decision to develop a bespoke FPSO to suit the needs of the Okwok field is a major engineering milestone for Nigeria’s indigenous oil and gas sector and a validation of OERL’s decision to take full responsibility and develop the highly qualified Nigerian technical team. to operate its assets.
The vice president while speaking at the ceremony said: “The success story we gather here to honor inspires hope and pride. The FPSO we come together to name today represents a milestone of immense importance at a time when Nigeria’s oil and gas industry is rapidly evolving. Vessels like this will be essential to maximizing our production capacity and driving growth. It is a masterpiece. The first of its kind funded entirely by a local oil and gas company.
“Mohammed Indimi personifies the Nigerian dream. It is an African success story. No wonder his vision has transformed Oriental. His journey reminds us that Nigeria is a land of opportunity and that, with dedication, there is nothing we cannot achieve. “Today’s meeting is a celebration of his vision and Oriental’s achievements.”
Indimi said OERL is focused on increasing Nigeria’s local production capacity, stating that the event is part of his company’s contribution to achieving Nigeria’s oil production targets.
“We are honored that the vice president took time out of his busy schedule to represent the president and join us here today at an event that marks the culmination of many years of investment and time.
“Oriental has an ambitious vision to increase Nigeria’s indigenous production capacity. The appointment of the Okwok FPSO and its imminent departure to Nigeria is a key milestone in this process, but also represents a key contribution to the achievement of Nigeria’s oil production targets at a critical time for the industry.
“At full production, Okwok is expected to produce up to 30,000 barrels of oil per day and with our existing production at Ebok and an exciting pipeline of development opportunities, there is now a clear path to achieving our production targets.”
Describing the technical capabilities of the FPSO, OERL Director General, Mustafa Indimi, said: “The EMEM FPSO is an example of the growing capacity in Nigeria’s indigenous oil and gas sector. This comes at a time when the transition of assets to indigenous ownership is accelerating.
“As the operator of the Okwok field, we drill a batch of wells, fabricate and install a wellhead platform and then procure and manage the conversion of the MV Cactus into an FPSO that has the capability to manage oil and gas separation, lift, gas injection and water injection with a processing capacity of 40,000 barrels of oil per day and storage capacity of 1 million barrels of oil.
“This is an important step in line with our long-term strategy to develop our local technical operational capacity, consolidate our asset base, optimize production and grow organically,” the CEO said.
The EMEM FPSO is the first FPSO fully financed and converted by an indigenous Nigerian company and has the capacity to process 40,000 bpd and will be the crude oil production, storage and export facility for the development of the Okwok field offshore Nigeria, in addition to complement the existing one from OERL. production facilities in the field.