An indigenous oil firm, Nestoil Group, has announced the deployment of its Pathfinder 500 drilling rig for the first time since its acquisition about eight years ago, completing workover operations on two producing wells in Oil Mining Lease 42 without recording any health, safety and environment incidents.
The development is expected to support efforts to raise oil production from the Niger Delta asset as the indigenous oil company moves to revive mature wells and prepare for a wider in-field drilling campaign.
The Pathfinder 500 was deployed by Scorpio Drilling International, a strategic business unit of Nestoil Group, for the workover campaign on OML 42.
The rig is one of two units acquired by the group at a combined cost of approximately `$28m. The other is the Scorpio 300.
In a statement issued on Sunday by its Corporate Communications department, Nestoil said the Pathfinder 500 was successfully mobilised to the field, completed the two-well workover programme without any HSE incident and was subsequently demobilised safely to its base.
The company said the operations also resulted in incremental oil production from the asset.
The statement read, “In a bid to drive oil production at this critical time in the Niger Delta, oil firm Nestoil Group has successfully deployed one of its rigs, the Pathfinder 500, completing workover operations on two producing wells in Oil Mining Lease 42 through its strategic business unit, Scorpio Drilling International.
“The workover campaign was carried out using the Pathfinder 500 rig, one of two rigs, the second being the Scorpio 300, acquired by the Group as part of a combined investment of approximately $28 million.
“The rig was successfully mobilised to site in OML 42, completed workover operations on the two wells without any Health, Safety and Environment incidents, contributed to incremental oil production from the asset, and was safely demobilised back to base.”
Reacting, the Chairman of Nestoil/Neconde Group, Ernest Obiejesi, described the deployment as a major milestone for the company and a demonstration of Nigeria’s growing indigenous drilling capacity.
According to him, the decision to acquire the rigs was driven by the need to develop dependable local drilling capacity rather than remain heavily dependent on hired rigs, which can be expensive and difficult to secure in Nigeria’s operating environment.
He said the group, as an asset owner in OML 42, needed its own drilling infrastructure to conduct workovers, restore production from ageing wells and eventually drill new wells as the field matured.
Obiejesi said the successful workover had now provided the confidence needed to proceed with the company’s planned in-field drilling programme.
He said, “This is a defining moment for us because this rig has been sitting there for eight years. There were many people who doubted that we would ever be able to deploy it, but we remained committed to the investment.
“Today, we have successfully mobilised the Pathfinder 500 to OML 42, completed the workover operations on two wells without any HSE incident and safely demobilised the rig. For us, that is a genuine success story and a clear demonstration that indigenous companies can build and operate drilling capacity in Nigeria.”
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