Bonga field records 36% growth in oil production in 2023

The Shell Bonga field has recorded a 36 percent growth in oil production in 2023.

Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd (SNEPCo) made this known in a statement made available to NewsDirect on Tuesday.

According to SNEPCo, the oil field which is 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 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,” said SNEPCo Managing Director, Elohor Aiboni.

“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 added.

Bonga began production in November 2005 through the 225,000-barrels-per-day capacity Bonga FPSO, anchored 120 kilometres offshore. The FPSO exported the 1 billionth barrel of oil last year.

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

In its 2023 Shell Briefing Notes, the company revealed that SPDC paid $442 million, while SNEPCo remitted $649 million. Similar payments made by the two companies in 2022 amounted to $1.36 billion.

“These payments are Shell exclusive and do not include those made by our partners,” said SPDC Managing Director and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor.