Oil, gas production resumes in Niger Delta

 
Lagos - Eland Oil and Gas has resumed production in the Niger Delta seven years after operations were halted because of the problems posed by the militant Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

The development is widely seen as positive business approach aimed at increasing oil pumping capacity as well as creating jobs for thousands of Nigerians.


Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Eland, Les Blair, announced that his company had revived oil and gas production at Opuama oil fields along OML 40 license, which is onshore Nigeria.

He said Eland had already re-commissioned the existing infrastructure before opening of the existing oil wells.

“Eland, on behalf of all the Opuama field stakeholders, would like to thank all the individuals and companies that have contributed to the achievement of this very significant milestone in the development of the field.

"It is a testament to the dedication and hard work of all stakeholders in OML 40 and is a hugely significant milestone for Eland. We look forward enthusiastically to the prospect of building on this pivotal turning point by materially increasing the daily production through the planned development drilling during 2014,” Blair said.

Eland Oil & Gas PLC is an independent oil and gas company with the principal business objective of identifying, acquiring and developing interests in oil and gas assets in West Africa, focused initially on Nigeria including the prolific Niger Delta.

The company was founded in 2009 by Les Blair and George Maxwell, who previously held senior management positions with Addax Petroleum Corporation and played a significant role in developing the firm into a highly successful independent oil company focused on upstream operations in Nigeria prior to its sale to the Sinopec Group in 2009.

Eland listed on the London Stock Exchange in September 2012 and announced the completion, by its 45 percent-owned Nigerian joint venture company Elcrest, of the purchase of a 45 percent interest in the OML 40 licence, onshore Nigeria.