Nigeria-focused crude producer Sahara Upstream has deployed a new 380,000-barrel tanker to support exports from the OML 18 block, as domestic operators invest in infrastructure and help Africa's biggest oil producer increase output and exports.
The D Adesanya, which can hold more than 62,000 cubic metres of crude, will operate alongside the D Bayero, receiving crude from shuttle vessels at Bonny Anchorage, one of Nigeria's main crude export hubs, before transferring it to the FSO Cawthorne storage facility.
Sahara said the tanker would help cut turnaround times, currently about 30 to 48 hours, and support a planned 50 per cent increase in exports from the block's current level of about 950,000 barrels per month.
The block currently produces about 36,000 barrels per day (bpd), according to Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission data, with Sahara targeting output of 60,000 bpd.
OML 18 is one of the Niger Delta's oldest producing assets. It began production in 1970 and contains an estimated 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent in reserves.
Shell, Total and Eni sold their combined interests to Eroton in 2015 as part of a broader shift toward domestic ownership in Nigeria's upstream sector.
(Reporting by Isaac Anyaogu; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)