France's oil major Total said Monday that it has received an approval from Nigeria's state National Petroleum Corp
France?s oil major Total said Monday that it has received an approval from Nigeria?s state National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) to begin developing the offshore Akpo field.
The company said it holds a 24 percent interest in the project alongside NNPC and two other oil firms. Akpo development will come on stream in late 2008 and is expected to quickly reach peak production of 225,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
"This latest major development project confirms Total's commitment to pursuing our growth strategy in Nigeria and developing the country's oil and gas industry," said Christophe deMargerie, Total's president of exploration and production.
Discovered in 2000, the Akpo field is located around 200 km off the southern Nigerian oil city of Port Harcourt in water depths ranging from 1,100 to 1,700 meters.
Africa is Total's leading growth region, accounting for production of 813,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2004, of which 271,000 in Nigeria, a key contributor to the firm's strategy to strengthen its presence in the deep offshore Gulf of Guinea.
