President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is set to inaugurate the $400 million Otakikpo Onshore Crude Oil Export Terminal in Rivers State on October 8, marking a major milestone in Nigeria’s energy infrastructure development.
The terminal, developed by Green Energy International Limited (GEIL), is the first wholly indigenous onshore crude export facility to be built in Nigeria since the commissioning of the Forcados Terminal in 1971 over five decades ago.
Located in Ikuru Town, in the Andoni Local Government Area, the new terminal is operated under Oil Mining Lease (OML) 11 and is tied to GEIL’s Otakikpo oil field.
The commissioning will be attended by top government officials, including Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, and major stakeholders in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
According to Olusegun Ilori, GEIL’s Executive Director of Legal and Corporate Services, the project aligns closely with the Federal Government’s renewed push to increase crude oil production, cut export costs, and resolve evacuation bottlenecks that have long plagued the sector.
“This project is a strategic infrastructure that supports the administration’s commitment to raising output while reducing costs,” Ilori stated.
Designed to Unblock Nigeria’s Crude Evacuation Gridlock
Evacuation challenges have long been cited by operators as a major impediment to achieving Nigeria’s production target of three million barrels per day. The Otakikpo terminal is expected to provide a reliable crude evacuation route, particularly for over 40 marginal and stranded oil fields that currently lack export access.
With an initial storage capacity of 750,000 barrels, expandable to three million barrels, and a loading capacity of 360,000 barrels per day, the facility is set to drastically reduce logistics costs for indigenous producers.
Describing the terminal as a “game-changing national infrastructure”, GEIL’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Professor Anthony Adegbulugbe, said the project represents more than just a technical achievement.
“What we have achieved here is not just a storage solution, but a pathway for about 40 stranded oil fields to finally contribute to the economy,” he said.
Industry analysts believe this development could significantly boost investor confidence in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, which has been battered in recent years by pipeline vandalism, oil theft, declining output, and rising operational costs.
What This Means for the Nigerian Economy
Beyond its immediate technical and operational benefits, the Otakikpo terminal signals a potential turning point for Nigeria’s local content development and energy self-sufficiency.
The fact that the facility is 100% indigenous from conception to execution, may also serve as a blueprint for future oil infrastructure projects across the country.
As the Tinubu administration continues its drive to revive the petroleum sector, this new terminal could become a cornerstone of a broader strategy to unlock Nigeria’s untapped reserves, attract new investments, and improve revenue inflows from crude exports.
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