NNPC Enlists Halliburton’s Innovation to Quicken Inland Basin Oil Search

Chineme Okafor in Abuja
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Tuesday disclosed that its Research and Development (RD) division has entered into a new partnership with United States-based Halliburton Corporation to use its innovative Neftex solution to exactly locate viable crude oil deposits in Nigeria’s inland basins.

 NNPC explained that with its expected use of Halliburton’s Neftex solution, its ongoing search for commercial hydrocarbon in the inland sedimentary basins would be enhanced, adding that the solution would quicken exploration efforts in the basins.

It stated this at a time its May 2017 monthly financial report indicated that it has progressively continued to cut down on its monthly trading deficits in the last five months, with a N3.55 billion deficit representing 32.65 per cent decrease from that of April.

A statement from NNPC’s Group General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, explained that the corporation’s Group General Manager, RD, Dr. Bola Afolabi, stated in Port Harcourt that the collaboration with Halliburton would help fast-track its inland basin oil exploration efforts using the Neftex solution designed to provide precision in drilling for crude oil.

 Afolabi, was quoted to have said Halliburton’s Neftex solution would provide a geophysical mapping structure of Nigeria, and complement NNPC’s ongoing in-house efforts to develop what is known as Turonian Cenomanian Cretaceous source rock for all the basins in Nigeria.

“This essentially seeks to identify all the prolific basins in Nigeria by locating the cretaceous kitchen-areas where large crude oil deposits could be found,” said Afolabi.
He further stated: “If you take a football field for instance, there are technologies  that will direct you to drill for oil within the whole field but we are using a software solution that will tell you with exactitude to drill for instance in goal post one and when you do that you find large crude oil. That is what we are seeking to achieve with Neftex solution.”

 According to Afolabi, the collaborative research with Halliburton had crossed the 65 per cent expected threshold, and would take 18 months to complete.
He explained: “We are so excited about this project and with the assured support of the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, our projection is that by the turn of next year, we should be able to help the frontier basin team achieve a pin-point location of possible commercial oil finds for eventual drilling activities.”

He equally informed that research work had reached advance stage on the federal government inaugurated project assigned by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to classify Nigeria’s crude oil and natural gas.

Afolabi noted that the project would check Nigeria’s natural gas and condensate using the OPEC classification model to determine if it is within the upper limits or lower limits.
“The ability to do that well will enable Nigeria to properly classify its Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) and also gas condensate so that we don’t mismatch production of oil with condensate because if you do that you may short change yourself,” he said in the statement.

He further disclosed that the research centre of NNPC was working on a project to enhance production from existing assets by introducing a cost effective and reliable alternative to drilling new wells, adding that successful pilot scheme had been executed in collaboration with its strategic partners, Cypher Crescent Limited.

“With minimal cost, remarkable additional production potential was discovered. We are talking about a digital approach to wells and reservoir management. We are applying a first of its kind technology to easily reveal hidden opportunities and propose realistic well intervention programmes.
“We are seeking to improve the success rate of exploration and production well intervention activities, reduce operations and improve asset integrity, among others,” he said.

Meanwhile, the May 2017 monthly reports of the corporation have disclosed that the trading deficits recorded by NNPC in its activities have continued to drop in the last five months.
According to the report, NNPC recorded a trading deficit of N3.55 billion in May, representing 32.65 per cent decrease in its deficit of April which was N5.27 billion.