June 22, (THEWILL) – One of Nigeria’s largest indigenous producers, Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company (AEEPCO), operator of the NNPC/Aiteo Joint Venture on OML 29 says it has resumed oil production after temporarily shutting down operations last week following a reported oil leak at its Nembe, Bayelsa oil field.
The producer in a statement said it “… Verifies that following the completion of the joint investigative visit to the spill site by all stakeholders as required by regulations, AEEPCO will reopen its facilities for production while continuing other statutory spill management protocols concurrently.
“Consequently, AEEPCO’s Group Managing Director, Victor Okoronkwo, updated: ” After a comprehensive evaluation of our operations and infrastructure at the Nembe Swamp Field, we are delighted to confirm the resumption of production activities. Our dedicated team has worked diligently to address the issues caused by the recent incident and implemented enhanced safety protocols to prevent future occurrences. We have engaged with regulatory bodies, local communities, and stakeholders to ensure transparency and accountability throughout this process.”
THEWILL had earlier reported exclusively that AEEPCO recorded crude sales of $325m about N471 billion in the first half of the year and could be on course to reach the N1 trillion naira mark in revenue for 2024, according to financial records obtained from banking sources.
THEWILL further recalls that Aiteo acquired OML 29 and the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL), from Shell in a landmark transaction in 2014 that closed at around $3.01bn where a group of lenders raised $2 billion with Peters contributing about $1bn dollars in personal fortune to conclude the deal and restart production.
The consortium of lenders that committed $2 billion according to data seen exclusively by THEWILL include Zenith – $323m, First Bank & GTB – $200m each, Fidelity Bank – $175m, AFC – $125m, Ecobank Nigeria & Union Bank – $100m each, Sterling Bank – $60m and Shell Western –$512m.
Peters’ initial equity contribution for the purchase was $898, 237, 697.35 in cash with an additional $257 milion injected at closing for fees and other ancillary costs and costs to restart production. Other small equity holders contributed $136 million, which the banking sources said Aiteo is already in the process of buying out.
OML 29 is a joint venture asset owned by the NNPC and Aiteo with the latter as operator. Aiteo’s sister company, Bravura Holdings, a mining concern with operations mainly in Southern and Central Africa, has also seen its fortunes on the rise after securing mining deals for lithium production in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Congo.
Bravura recently announced the completion of Zimbabwe’s first world-class lithium facility, the Kamativi Lithium plant with an annual producing capacity of 30,000 tonnes.
