West Africa focused exploration and production company LEKOIL announced on Thursday that it has secured funding for the appraisal drilling and initial development program activities on the Ogo field within OPL 310 offshore Nigeria.
Lekoil 310 Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of LEKOIL, has entered into a binding loan agreement with the Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar (QIA) in the amount of $184 million. The facility will be disbursed in five tranches over 11 months, with the first drawdown intended to occur in February 2020.
Following on from the drilling of Ogo-1 and Ogo-1 ST in 2013 which encountered hydrocarbons within the SynRift and PostRift, LEKOIL and the Operator of the OPL 310 License, Optimum Petroleum, are envisaging a two-well program with the objective of obtaining dynamic flow data from well test while preserving the drilled wells as producers. It is envisaged that first well spud could occur in the second half of 2020.
Lekan Akinyanmi, LEKOIL's CEO, commented, "Following the recent achievements of the OPL 310 license extension and the securing of funding for the appraisal drilling and development program, we are delighted to have made strong progress, as promised, towards the start of the appraisal drilling program on Ogo. We will continue to work closely with our partner and the Operator of the OPL 310 License, Optimum Petroleum, as we pursue value for our shareholders."
