Nigeria focussed Lekoil Ltd (LON:LEK) told investors that the first crude cargo from the Otakikpo Marginal Field, in OML 11, has now been lifted by a subsidiary of Shell.
The 120,000 barrels of oil was lifted by Shell Western Supply and Trading Limited, and Lekoil expects to receive payment within the next month.
Otakikpo is currently producing 5,000 barrels of oil per day, and alongside regular liftings the company is working to ramp-up output to 10,000 bopd by the year end. To achieve that, the company needs to expand its crude storage capacity and as such it intends to use a higher capacity shuttle tanker.
"Selling our first oil marks the commencement of cash flow from Otakikpo,” said Lekan Akinyanmi, Lekoil chief executive.
“Dollar receipts will increase as we further ramp up production to our Phase 1 target of 10,000 bopd and will contribute to funding Phase 2 expansion.
“The production and now offtake and export sale from the FSO Ailsa Craig is the culmination of our team's hard work over the last two years to bring Otakikpo into revenue generating production.
“I would again like to thank the entire team that has worked so hard on this project, our partner Green Energy, FSO owner and operator Amni, our contractors, our host communities and our government regulators for their continuing support."