An indigenous oil and gas firm, Midwestern Oil & Gas Company Limited with its Joint Venture partners, SunTrust and others have increased its oil process capacity from 25,000 to 40,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) in Umusadege, Kwale, Ndokwa West Local Government Area, Delta State.
They have also stepped up gas process capacity from 15 to 25 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf ) and its storage capacity from 29,000 to 110,000 bopd facilities, while also confirming the acquisition of two compressors that will deliver 6.5mmscf of gas each, which were among the multi-million dollars project.
This was disclosed to journalists yesterday in Asaba, by the GMD Emeritus, Midwestern Oil & Gas Company Limited, Operator of OML 56, Engr. Charles Odita, who said despite the daunting challenges posed by regulatory agency restrictions and the capital-intensive nature of the project, they overcame with focus on the new projects, which is aimed at optimizing hydrocarbon recovery with low cost.
His words: “While major challenges arose from regulatory agency restrictions and the capital-intensive nature of the project, diligent management resources and cooperation of the partners were able to surmount all obstacles and come up with the resultant investment.
“Today is a memorable and glorious day in the history of oil and gas in Nigeria, as we, (Midwestern Oil & Gas Company Limited) with our JV partners are commissioning four major projects. Abandonment of such projects in our industry is not unusual and we are indeed proud of this remarkable achievement”, he added.
Engr. Odita further said, “The value of the 3-fold increment in our gas processing, oil processing and storage is immense and by adding the two compressors that will deliver 6.5 mmscf of gas, we have set a course for a bright future for us and our JV partners.
“We have also positioned our host communities for industrial excellence, and this is due to the cordial support they have granted us from the onset of our operations in their communities”
“On a personal note, I am grateful to God because no sooner had I joined the company as Managing Director, the price of crude oil plummeted from $150 to $29 dollars per barrel. So, most of the time that I was Managing Director, we grappled with the low oil prices and limited resources. In spite of all that, we were able to apply resources judiciously to the current success of the company”, he recalled.
Expressing elation, Midwestern Asset Manager, Adeche Omotosho-Oboro confirmed, “the projects were completed with zero incident or accident despite the project going on simultaneously with oil activities and heavy equipment being installed with millions of man-hours, yet no casualty of any kind! That is why we must thank God.”
Midwestern Oil & Gas Company Limited is an indigenous Oil & Gas Company. The operator of Umusadege field located in OML 56, Delta State, Midwestern has interests in Umugini Pipeline Infrastructure Limited (UPIL), the pipeline company which constructed the 51.4km pipeline from Umusadege to Eriemu for injecting crude into the TransForcados Pipeline.
Midwestern also owns an interest in OML 18.