TotalEnergies Launches the Ubeta Gas Development to Supply Nigeria LNG Liquefaction Plant
CHIGOZIE AMADI
TotalEnergies, operator of OML 58 onshore license in Nigeria with a 40% interest, together with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd (NNPCL, 60%), have taken the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the development of the Ubeta gas field.
Located about 80 km northwest of Port Harcourt in Rivers state, the OML 58 license contains two fields currently in production, the Obagi oil field and the Ibewa gas and condensate field. OML58 gas production is processed in the Obite treatment center and supplied to both the Nigerian domestic gas market and to Nigeria LNG (NLNG) plant.
Also located in OML58, the Ubeta gas condensate field will be developed with a new 6-well cluster connected to the existing Obite facilities through a 11 km buried pipeline. Production start-up is expected in 2027, with a plateau of 300 million cubic feet per day (about 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day including condensates). Gas from Ubeta will be supplied to NLNG, a liquefaction plant located in Bonny Island with an on-going capacity expansion from 22 to 30 Mtpa, in which TotalEnergies holds a 15% interest.
Ubeta is a low-emission and low-cost development, leveraging on OML58 existing gas processing facilities. The carbon intensity of the project will be further reduced through a 5 MW solar plant currently under construction at the Obite site and the electrification of the drilling rig. TotalEnergies is working closely with NNPCL to enhance local content, with more than 90% of manhours which will be worked locally.
“Ubeta is the latest in a series of projects developed by TotalEnergies in Nigeria, most recently Ikike and Akpo West. I am pleased that we can launch this new gas project which has been made possible by the Government’s recent incentives for non-associated gas developments. Ubeta fits perfectly with our strategy of developing low-cost and low-emission projects, and will contribute to the Nigerian economy through higher NLNG exports”, said Mike Sangster, Senior Vice President Africa, Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies.
