President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to inaugurate the Otakikpo Onshore Crude Oil Export Terminal in Rivers State on October 8. This facility, valued at $400 million, is significant as the first new crude export terminal built in Nigeria in over half a century.
Developed by Green Energy International Limited (GEIL), the operator of the Otakikpo field in OML 11, Ikuru town, Andoni Local Government Area, the terminal is the country’s first entirely indigenously-built onshore export outlet. The last similar facility, the Forcados Terminal, began operations back in 1971.
The commissioning event is set to feature high-profile attendees, including the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and various key figures from the oil and gas industry.
In a Thursday statement, Olusegun Ilori, GEIL’s Executive Director of Legal and Corporate Services, confirmed that the new terminal directly supports Tinubu’s goal of increasing crude oil production and resolving Nigeria’s long-standing evacuation challenges.
Ilori stated that the project represents a “critical piece of infrastructure” that supports the administration’s commitment to boosting output while simultaneously reducing operational expenses.
Evacuation difficulties have been consistently cited by industry operators as a primary hurdle preventing Nigeria from hitting the Federal Government’s target of producing three million barrels per day.
The Otakikpo terminal is expected to be a major boost for more than 40 stranded oil fields, offering them a dependable way to move their product and potentially releasing millions of barrels of previously inaccessible crude.
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The facility boasts an initial storage capacity of 750,000 barrels, which can be expanded to three million barrels, and has a loading capacity of 360,000 barrels daily.
These features are projected to substantially cut production costs for local producers. Professor Anthony Adegbulugbe, GEIL’s Chairman and Chief Executive, hailed the terminal as a transformative national infrastructure.
He noted, “What we have created here is more than just storage; it’s a pathway for about 40 stranded oil fields to finally contribute to the economy.”
