Yemisi Izuora
Pan Ocean Oil Corporation, operator of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Pan Ocean Joint Venture is set to unveil the 67-kilometre 160,000 barrels of oil per day Amukpe-Escravos Pipeline Project (AEPP) in Delta State.
The unveiling, which is scheduled to come on stream before the end of the second quarter of 2019, will further boost Nigeria’s crude oil exports and also serve as an alternative to the much-troubled Trans Forcados Pipeline (TFP) for oil companies operating in the Western Niger Delta.
According to John Okusolubo, Senior Pipeline Engineer and Project Lead, AEPP, “the primary objective of AEPP is to ensure that there is no disruption to crude oil export like the scenario we are currently experiencing on the Trans Forcados Pipeline where crude export has been suspended. Nigeria’s experience and history has shown that it is not wise to be highly dependent on a particular source that is why we have AEPP as an alternative to TFP which has been our major means of exporting crude oil as a joint venture (JV) partner”.
Commenting further on the multimillion-dollar project, Okusolubo said, “the construction of the AEPP entails the use of continuous Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) method to install the entire pipeline length for the purpose of security from the act of vandalism which is prevalent in the domain. The project’s objective is to provide Pan Ocean JV and other Niger Delta mid-western producers like Seplat, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), Conoil, Sahara and other oil producers in the area an alternative export pipeline route to the existing TFP which has suffered disruptions as a result of vandalism”.
Nigeria’s crude export capability has been impacted since 2015 because of the massive vandalism of oil and gas infrastructure in the Niger Delta. The 240,000 barrels of oil per day TFP remains shut down after a fire broke out at the facility on May 19th. Export of crude oil has been suspended while repair work is underway.