Integrated oil and gas company TOTAL S.A. (TOT) announced that its Nigerian subsidiary Total E&P Nigeria Ltd. (TEPNG) has made a second oil discovery at its Oil Mining Lease ("OML") 102. The new find is located 65 kilometers (40.4 miles) off the southeastern coast of the country, about 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) southeast of the Ofon field.
The Etisong North-1 well was spud at a total depth of 2,387 meters (7,831.4 ft) including water depth of 80 meters (262.5 ft). One of the three reservoirs, which were drilled, encountered 8,500 barrels per day of 40° API oil. OML 102 is operated jointly by TEPNG, with a 40% interest, and its partner Nigerian National Petroleum Company (“NNPC”), which holds the remaining 60%.
Total's offshore production in Nigeria comes from OML 130, in which the Akpo field is located, and from OMLs 99, 100 and 102, which are operated by the Group as part of a joint venture with NNPC. The main fields in these leases are Amenam-Kpono and Ofon. TOTAL is expected to begin operation in Ofon 2 within the next few months.
TOTAL has been operating in Nigeria for nearly 50 years. TOTAL’s Nigerian exposure accounted for 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2010. The new find will boost this level further in the coming years.
Maximum volume of TOTAL's oil production comes from the African nations. In the recently concluded third quarter, TOTAL’s hydrocarbon production averaged 2,319 thousand barrels of oil equivalent (kboe) per day, out of which 623 kboe/d or 26.9% came from its African production hubs.
We believe TOTAL's exposure in the Pazflor field offshore Angola and the finding in the Bilondo Marine wells offshore the Republic of Congo also hold significant promise for the company.
TOTAL S.A. currently retains a Zacks # 3 Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold rating. The company competes with BP plc (BP) and Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM).
France-based TOTAL is one of the largest publicly traded, globally integrated oil and gas companies based on production volumes, proved reserves and market capitalization. The company has exploration and production operations across five continents.
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