Italian oil and gas giant Eni has commenced gas and condensate production from the Obiafu 41 discovery in the Niger Delta in Nigeria, three weeks after well completion.

The discovery holds nearly 28 billion cubic meters of gas and 60 million barrels of condensate. The Italian energy company said that the gas from the Nigerian field will be largely supplied to the domestic market to fuel the power sector.

Eni expects that after the end of ramp-up, production at the Obiafu 41 discovery will touch nearly three million cubic meters of gas to go along with 3,000 barrels of condensate per day.

The gas from the new onshore Nigerian gas field will be processed at the Ob-Ob plant operated by Eni before it is sent to the 500MW Okpai Power Plant, which is also operated by the Italian energy company.

Eni starts production from Obiafu 41 discovery in Nigeria. Federico Leva (BEIC)/Wikipedia.org.

The Okpai Power Plant is the first independent power plant in Nigeria, which is being upgraded to double its capacity to 1 GW. Upon completion of the upgrade, Eni will produce 20% of the entire electricity production in Nigeria through the Okpai Power Plant.

The Italian energy company stated: “In Nigeria, approximately 30% of Eni’s gas production is supplied to the domestic market, a sign of the company’s focus on the environmental and economic impact of its business on local communities. Eni’s commitment in this regard is also evidenced by ongoing projects aimed at reducing gas flaring.

“The sale of gas, that previously would have been flared, to local companies is a contribution to the development of the domestic gas market as well as a boost to the local economy as a whole. Through this multi-pronged flaring down strategy Eni aims at zeroing flared gas from all its operations by 2025.”

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