ExxonMobil Supports IPEA Training on Environmental Awareness

The Ibom Programme on Environmental Awareness (IPEA), an initiative of the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Environment & Mineral Resources in partnership with ExxonMobil, has held a training workshop for advocacy team members in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. The one-day training was designed to empower IPEA personnel to effectively enlighten people at motor parks, schools, abattoirs, restaurants and other locations as part of the recently-launched environmental awareness campaign in Akwa Ibom State.

The Ibom Programme on Environmental Awareness (IPEA) is an initiative aimed at creating awareness on pollution, and helping the citizens of Akwa Ibom state develop positive environmental values that will enable them manage instances of environmental pollution that may occur, as well as prevent potential environmental hazards from happening.

In his remark at the training, the General Manager, Public and Government Affairs, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Mr. Paul Arinze, represented by Mrs Regina Udobong, called on the participants to live up to expectation on the campaign. According to her, ‘ExxonMobil expects the participants to take full advantage of the training programme to sharpen their skills to educate target audiences and encourage best practices to curtail all kinds of environmental pollution – air, water and earth pollution’.

Mr. Arinze reiterated ExxonMobil’s commitment to the environment which has been demonstrated by the company’s partnership with Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Environment & Mineral Resources to achieve a cleaner and safer environment.

Declaring the training open, the Commissioner for Environment & Mineral Resources, Prince Enobong Uwah, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Mineral Resources, Mrs Atim Enoh, commended ExxonMobil for supporting the environmental awareness campaign. According to him ‘the State Ministry of Environment & Mineral Resource is grateful to ExxonMobil for sponsorship of IPEA. This gesture by ExxonMobil reflects its commitment to cleaner environment in Akwa Ibom State’.

Prince Uwah advised the participants to make good use of the opportunity offered by the training to ensure that objectives of campaign were achieved.

The training witnessed presentations by resource persons including Dr. James Asuquo, a lecturer in the Department of Chemistry, University of Uyo and Mr. Stephen Erakpotobar, an environmental expert. The training focused on key issues such as sources of water, air and land pollution and remedies and behavioural change communication in environmental management.  

It will be recalled that the Ibom Programme on Environmental Awareness was launched on June 5, 2013 in Uyo by Governor Godswill Akpabio.

Lekoil Hits Oil Offshore Nigeria

Lekoil Limited has announced the discovery of a significant light oil accumulation at the high impact Ogo-1 well located on the OPL 310 licence offshore Nigeria, based on the results of drilling and wireline logs.

The Ogo-1 well is being drilled by Afren Plc (“Afren”), as technical partner, under a farmout to Lekoil of OPL310, offshore Nigeria (“OPL310”), as announced on 14 May 2013. The well has been drilled to a total measured depth of 10,518ft (10,402ft true vertical depth subsea (“TVDSS”)), and has encountered a gross hydrocarbon

section of 524ft, with 216ft of apparent stacked, net pay.

Further wireline log evaluation is currently underway prior to extending the well to target deeper prospectivity above basement, to a total measured depth of 11,800ft (11,684ft TVDSS). The expected timetable for completion of this further drilling together with additional testing is four to six weeks (inclusive of drilling a planned Ogo-1 side-track well).

Speaking on the development, Lekan Akinyanmi, CEO of Lekoil, said: “The discovery of oil in the Ogo-1 well opens up a new oil basin in an underexplored region and represents a possible extension of the Cretaceous play along the West African Transform Margin. The discovery is a clear validation of Lekoil’s technical analysis and of our extensive studies on the Dahomey Basin.

According to Lekan, “Results to date indicate that the discovered resources could be significantly in excess of P50 estimates prior to drilling. While Lekoil notes these results are preliminary, we believe there exists substantial scope for upward revisions to the data announced today as drilling and interpretation continues.

“We look forward to working with our Partners to realise the full potential of Ogo and the additional prospects on the license”, he added.

The Ogo-1 discovery, testing a four-way dip-closed structure in the Turonian, Cenomanian, and Albian sandstone reservoirs, confirms the extension of the same Cretaceous play that has yielded other significant discoveries along the West African Transform Margin.