28 August 2014, Sweetcrude, Lagos – Eland Plc, a company focused on oil and gas exploration and production in Nigeria and West Africa, needs $125 million as development capital expenditure for the Ubima field.
The company recently acquired 40 percent participating interest in the Ubima field, Oil Mining Lease, OML, 17 from All Grace Energy Ltd.
Chief Executive officer of Eland, Leslie Blair, who described the acquisition as an attractive and accretive deal for his company, stated that a proportion of the anticipated expenditure would be met from early cashflows from the extended production test.
Eland acquired the 40 percent participating interest of the field which lies onshore in the northern part of River State through its wholly owned subsidiary Wester Ord Oil & Gas.
OML 17 is held by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Total E&P Nigeria Limited and Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited.
It is believed that the most recent independent 2C resources (Contingent Resources) estimate for the Ubima Field is 34 million barrels of oil reserves. There is also a significant upside 3C resource (Contingent Resources) estimate of 66.9 million barrels of oil, with an extra 2C resource (Contingent Resources) estimate of 97 billion cubic feet of non-associated gas in two reservoirs.
Also, the field is reported to have 3D seismic coverage and four wells which have been drilled in the field between the 1960s and 1981 with hydrocarbons being encountered in all four wells in multiple stacked reservoirs.
The Ubima 1 well was suspended and identified for completion and production by the previous operator, but this programme was not executed.