Shell’s Bonga Produced 138,000bpd Crude Oil in 2023

Peter Uzoho

Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) produced more oil at Bonga in 2023, compared to the previous year 2022, a review of the company’s operations has shown.

According to the review, Nigeria’s first deep-water development produced some 138,000 barrels of oil per day (boepd) in 2023, compared to around 101,000 in 2022.

Among other factors, the company explained that the improvement was driven by drilling of new wells, optimising reservoir and facility management and excellent asset management.

“Bonga continues to justify the investments and hard work that led to its discovery,” SNEPCo’s Managing Director, Elohor Aiboni, stated.

“The uptick in production is the result of commitment by staff, continuous improvements in production processes and maintenance and the support of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPC) and our co-venture partners – TotalEnergies Nigeria Limited, Nigerian Agip Exploration and Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited.

“Working together, we will continue to power lives and deliver value to all stakeholders,” she said.

Bonga, began production in November 2005, through the 225,000-barrels-per-day capacity Bonga Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO), anchored 120 kilometres offshore.

The FPSO exported the one billionth barrel of oil last year.

The operations have resulted in remittance of taxes and royalties to the Nigerian government to finance development, development of indigenous contactors and service providers, and a wide-ranging social investment portfolio which has improved lives across the country, Shell further stated in the review.