Lekoil, Optimum Petroleum agree to restructure OPL310 development

Oil and gas exploration company, Lekoil Limited, has declared it has reached an agreement with Optimum Petroleum Development Company, operator of Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 310, to defer the final tranche of the payment of US$7.6 million due on or before 2^nd May 2020.

The new development is in furtherance to the company’s announcements on 21^st January, 25^th March and 3^rd April 2020.

Lekoil entered into negotiation talks with Optimum Petroleum in late January with a view to postponing its financial and operational obligations due in February.

It said in January it had obtained a $184 million credit to fund the appraisal drilling and initial development programme works on the Ogo Field within OPL 310 offshore Nigeria.

The expansion move suffered a major setback on 15^th January following the discovery that the proposed loan it was sourcing from Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund was a fraud.

Speaking on the latest agreement, Alhaji Yusuf N’jie, Managing Director, Optimum Petroleum Development Company said “the current challenges in the oil industry – the unprecedented supply and demand shock brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, requires true partnership and collaboration and we are pleased to work with Lekoil in this regard.”

The two firms have collaborated to develop the OPL310 located on the Dahomey Basin.

READ ALSO: MTN, Savannah, 8 others to invest $4.8bn in Nigeria –NIPC

As announced on 21^st January 2020, Lekoil agreed that a final payment of US$9.6 million, in aggregate, would be made to Optimum Petroleum to cover sunk costs and consent fees.

The final payment was to be made in two tranches with the first payment of US$2.0 million completed as announced on 3 April 2020.

Regarding the second and final payment of US$7.6 million, Lekoil and Optimum Petroleum have agreed to the following deferred payment schedule: the sum of US$1.0 million to be paid on or before 15 July 2020, the sum of US$2.0 million to be paid on or before 2 September 2020, and the sum of US$4.6 million to be paid on or before 2 November 2020.

Lekan Akinyanmi, Lekoil’s Chief Executive Officer, said “we would like to thank Optimum for their continued support and understanding during these challenging times for the oil and gas industry and the global economy. We remain aligned and committed to delivering on our joint appraisal ambitions.”

 

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now