Nigeria Gets its First Locally-Owned FPSO

Nigeria has welcomed its first locally owned floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. The FPSO Emem is owned by the Nigerian oil company Oriental Energy Resources (OER). This reveals growing capacity by local producers to deliver complex offshore development in a market dominated by global oil majors. The FPSO has been undergoing conversion at the Drydocks World Dubai Shipyard, which was initially scheduled to be completed in February.

After almost eight months of delay, Nigerian Minister for Petroleum Resources Heineken Lokpobiri early this week presided over the sail away ceremony of the FPSO at the Dubai yard. The $315 million FPSO is expected to arrive in Nigerian waters by December. It will be stationed in the Okwok field in southeast offshore Nigeria, helping to unlock higher production in the block.

OER is targeting to reach a production of 30,000 barrels of oil per day in the Okwok field. Emen can process up to 40,000 bpd and store about 1 million barrels. However, the FPSO will initially handle production from five wells. OER proposes to drill up to 15 wells in Okwok, which is estimated to have recoverable reserves of 45 million barrels.

The FPSO has been launched at a time Nigeria is increasing its oil output. In October 2024, Nigeria unveiled “Project One Million Barrels” initiative aimed at driving recovery in its oil sector. In reflecting one-year progress of implementing the initiative, Minister Lokpobiri last month said that the impact of the reforms is visible in the upstream market. One of the figures the minister shared is that Nigeria has boosted its daily crude oil output to around 1.83 million barrels. In addition, the number of active drilling rigs have increased from 31 in January to 50 by July.

Last month, Nigeria also hit a major milestone with the commissioning of its first wholly owned Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) vessel. The FSO, named Cawthorne, was developed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and has capacity for 2.2 million barrels. The vessel will boost crude oil production and transportation in Oil Mining Lease 18 and the surrounding assets in Nigeria’s Eastern Niger Delta. In addition, the FSO will reduce reliance on pipelines, which are a major target in oil theft and vandalism.