Nigeria starts crude oil production in Lagos

A Nigerian firm, Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Company Limited (YFP) has announced the commencement of oil production from an offshore field in the commercial city of Lagos.

This is the first output outside the country’s oil hub in the Niger Delta, Vanguard online reports.

“Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Co. Ltd (YFP) is pleased to announce that it has commenced production of crude oil from its Aje field located in block OML 113 offshore Lagos,” a statement from the company said.

Although YFP did not announce the volume of current output from the field but said the company has capacity to produce 40,000 barrels per day.

“Oil produced from the Aje field will be stored on the Front Puffin which has production capacity of 40,000 barrels of oil per day and storage capacity of 750,000 barrels,” the statement added.

#BREAKING Lagos state is now an oil producing state, following successful production yesterday at Aje Field in Dahomey Basin.

— NTA News (@NTANewsNow) May 4, 2016

The company said production began after more than 25 years of exploratory, appraisal and developmental activities in the field. This production makes Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial city, an oil producing state.

Nigeria’s oil and gas industry is concentrated in the southern delta states but the region has been dogged by unrest and disruption from militants demanding a fairer share of revenue.

Africa’s biggest economy is reliant on oil revenue for its economy but crude earnings have been depleted drastically since the slump in global prices that started in mid-2014