Seplat Energy reports 7.7 million barrels of oil production between Q1 and Q3/2023. The company stated this in its Q3/2023 financial statements, released on October 30, 2023.
Seplat Energy reported a notable increase in its total liquid production by 17.9%, reaching 7.7 million barrels in the first nine months of 2023 compared to 6.5 million barrels during the same period in 2022.
This surge in production was largely due to improved availability at the Forcados Oil Terminal, supporting exports for most of Seplat’s assets, a significant improvement from its prolonged unavailability in the third quarter of 2022.
A part of the report stated:
- “Total liquids production increased by 17.9% to 7.7 MMbbls in 9M 2023, compared to 6.5 MMbbls in 9M 2022. The higher production during the period was supported by the improved availability of the Forcados Oil Terminal that supports export for the majority of our assets; a contrast to its prolonged unavailability in 3Q 2022.”
Within OMLs 4, 38, & 41, the production of liquids under working interest grew by 3.4% to 15,206 barrels per day (bopd) in the first nine months of 2023, up from 14,710 bopd in the same period in 2022.
Despite facing a 44-day downtime for the Trans-Forcados Pipeline (TFP) evacuation route, the AEP pipeline’s availability provided a reliable alternate route, offsetting the impact.
The downtime was mainly due to the time taken to repair the Single Point Mooring (SPM) system at the Forcados Oil Terminal.
Additionally, delays in delivering new well stock planned for the asset in 2023 also affected production.
Seplat’s report highlighted substantial growth in OML 40, with working interest production surging by 61.0% to 10,169 bopd in the first nine months of 2023 from 6,316 bopd in the same period in 2022.
The growth was attributed to increased production uptime, improved pipeline availability, and the successful execution of the 2023 wells campaign.
However, in the Eastern operations within OML 53, daily working interest production decreased by 36.1% to 1,154 bopd in the first nine months of 2023.
These volumes were mainly evacuated to the nearby Waltersmith Refinery from Seplat’s Ohaji operations.
The resolution of issues with the Antan-Ebocha delivery line in August allowed Seplat to resume production from their Jisike operations, expecting this to positively impact OML 53’s output in the following months.
Yet, the unavailability of the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) continues to limit production from Ohaji.
The company is actively seeking solutions for third-party evacuation issues on their Eastern assets.
They are in final discussions with the Edo Refinery to establish an alternative evacuation option, planning to supply about 600 bopd of JV crude from Ohaji to the Edo Refinery.
Midstream gas business
According to the company statement, the average working interest gas volumes grew by 3.3% to reach 116.5 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd), demonstrating an improvement compared to 112.8 MMscfd in the first nine months of 2022.
This increase was driven by improved well performance and the accessibility of condensate evacuation routes.
Notably, total gas sales for the period amounted to 31.8 billion cubic feet (Bcf) compared to 30.8 Bcf in 9M 2022. These sales contributed 42% of the group’s volumes and accounted for 12% of the total revenue.
In the latest quarter, the company successfully established a new Gas Sales Agreement (GSA) with a bulk gas supplier for a volume of 50 MMscfd.
All necessary conditions precedent were met by this new customer, and the company is set to commence gas supply under this agreement in Q4 2023.
This strategic move aligns with their plan to optimize the capacity of the Oben gas plant.
Moreover, efforts are actively underway to secure third-party gas to supply both the Oben and Sapele gas plants, further enhancing their operational capacity and strengthening supply chain management.
