Afren Nigeria, has said its drilling and production programmes its oil and gas assets in the country and other parts of Africa, are on track and progressing as planned.

Specifically, Afren revealed in a statement issued in Lagos that work on all its three oil fields in Nigeria are progressing as follows:

Ebok – production ramp up continues from Phase 1 and is expected to exceed guidance provided to the market.

Okoro – infill drilling complete and production to increase;

Okwok – work progressing to determine optimal development solution;

In Ebok for instance, Afren, alongside the operators of the field, Oriental Energy Resources, have taken the field from appraisal, to development and now production in under two years.

“It is expected to exceed guidance and contribute significantly to Afren’s production profile in Nigeria. Exploration and Appraisal work is ongoing at the Okwok and OML 115 assets, in close proximity to Ebok and also in partnership with Oriental Energy Resources,” the statement added.

Speaking on the progress at Ebok, the Chairman, Afren Plc, Mr. Egbert Imomoh, was quoted as saying, “Production at the Ebok project is a major milestone in our development as a company and, alongside our partners at Oriental Energy Resources we see significant potential for production growth over time.

“We have worked hard to develop Ebok as a model for indigenous production in Nigeria, focusing extensively on relationships with indigenous contractors and communities to maximise the downstream impact we have. For example, the full operation and maintenance contract on the FPSO at the Ebok field has been awarded to Century Energy Services, a leading indigenous oil services company that is already providing similar services at the Okoro field and employ the majority of their staff from the Niger Delta region.”

The partners said they also plan to drill an exploration well in the second half of the year, targeting Ebok North, an untested fault block in the northern area of the field where they believe the same reservoirs that have been proved to be oil bearing elsewhere at the field are also present. Gross un-risked prospective resources are estimated at 35 million barrels, mmbbls.

An exploration well is also planned on Oil Mining Lease, OML 115 that will be drilled during the second half of the year. The Ufon prospect is a 60 mmbbls target that is interpreted to have oil prospectivity in the same D series reservoirs that have been proven to be oil bearing at the nearby Ebok and Okwok fields.

Afren’s community relations department have been engaging with communities around the Ebok project for over 12 months, carrying out a needs based assessment and implementing projects aligned to the findings including educational scholarship programmes, the provision of infrastructure for primary schools, and environmental protection projects, the statement further said.

With regard to its Oil Prospecting License, OPL 310, the company said it has launched a formal process to farm down a portion of its current 70 per cent interest and attract an industry partner to participate in future exploration of this high potential oil block.

“The outcome of the bidding process, with results anticipated during the second half of the year, will determine the timing of exploration drilling on the block. Plans are also in place to acquire additional seismic on the block,” Afren said.

In the Nigeria – São Tomé & Príncipe Joint Development Zone, JDZ, the company said it is seeking to reprocess existing seismic data and has proposed the drilling of one appraisal well on the Obo discovery in 2011, and one exploration well in 2012. Afren has a 4.41 per cent interest in the asset.

Afren Nigeria is the fully owned Nigerian subsidiary of Afren Plc. Established in May 2005; Afren Nigeria is partnered on nine assets in Nigeria with six indigenous companies. The company’s Okoro Setu project realised first oil in May 2008.