Nigerian oil producer Renaissance Energy said on Tuesday it had made an oil discovery offshore Nigeria after drilling an exploration well in Oil Mining Lease 74, its first major exploration success since taking over the asset last year.
Preliminary results from the well, known as JK-004, showed about 1,000 feet of crude oil-bearing reservoirs spread across seven zones, with fluid tests confirming light oil in high-quality reservoirs, the company said in a statement, without giving further technical detail. OML 74 is a large shallow-water block in the eastern Niger Delta holding at least eight previously undeveloped discoveries.
The find was announced at the NOG Energy Week conference in Abuja by Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, who called it an important milestone for the country’s upstream sector. Renaissance Chief Executive Tony Attah said the discovery reflected the strength of the company’s exploration program just over a year after it assumed operatorship of the assets, which it acquired from Shell.
Renaissance, recently ranked Africa’s largest oil and gas company by Wood Mackenzie, operates Nigeria’s biggest upstream joint venture, comprising 18 leases, two export terminals and a floating production vessel in the Niger Delta. The joint venture is owned by state-run NNPC, Renaissance, TotalEnergies and Agip Energy and Natural Resources.
The discovery comes as Nigeria works to reverse years of declining crude output and rebuild its reserve base, with officials framing indigenous-led exploration successes like this one as central to that effort.
