02 January 2012, Sweetcrude, ABUJA – Africa-focused, London-listed Afren says it has exceeded its production target for last year after boosting output from its Ebok oilfield off Nigeria.
The company said in a statement that Ebok currently produces 40,000 barrels of oil per day with output having been ramped up after all production wells for the initial phase of the field development had been brought on stream.
This has seen Afren achieve net working interest production of about 55,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day from the Ebok and Okoro fields in Nigeria, as well as its Ivory Coast operations, compared with a target of 50,000 boepd.
The company said gross output at the Ogini and Isoko fields in offshore licence OML 26 has increased from 6000 bpd to 10,500 bpd after affiliate, First Hydrocarbon Nigeria, completed acquisition of a 45% stake in the licence from Shell, Total and Eni in December.
Afren attributed the increase to higher compressor uptime and the opening of an additional two output strings.
According to chief executive officer, Osman Shahenshah, the company now has its sights set on an extensive exploration and appraisal campaign in African countries including Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania, as well as the Kurdistan region of Iraq, in 2012 that “has the potential to materially transform and increase our discovered resource base”.
