Total discovers oil at its offshore Etisong North 1 well

The well is situated in the southeastern corner of Oil Mining Lease 102, 65 kilometres off the southeastern coast, about 15 kilometres southeast of the Ofon field.

Total’s senior vice president for exploration Marc Blaizot said the find was part of a two-pronged strategy the French player was mounting in Nigeria.

“On one hand, our strategy is to strengthen exploration near our production hubs in the conventional offshore to maintain our production levels”, he said.

“On the other hand, we will also amplify deep offshore exploration on riskier prospects of large size around the Akpo and Usan field to grow our reserves”, he added.

Total operates OML 102 with a 40% working interest, while partner Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation holds the remainder.

It is the second discovery in the lease, following on from the Etisong main find in December 2008, increasing the feasibility of developing OML 102 as a hub, according to the company.

Total is a global energy producer and provider with operations that span the oil and gas chain. Its overall production in Nigeria, where it has been active for 50 years, averaged 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day last year.