Nigerian Oil Tycoon's $400 Million Bet on Marginal Field Pays Off
Nigerian oil tycoon Uju Ifejika has made significant investments in her company's field, Brittania-U Nigeria. She claims that over $400 million has been spent on additional wells and a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel at Ajapa since the company bought it from Chevron in 2010.
The field was brought into production at about 2,300 barrels per day in 2010, with higher and steadier output since. Ifejika argues that mature assets deserve more capital rather than less, and Nigeria's regulator is now making the same case at a national scale.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission wants to increase national production back to 2.5 million barrels per day, a level last reached in November 2005. To achieve this goal, they plan to revive dormant fields, unlock deepwater resources, and attract foreign capital.