Nestoil Group is splashing out $28 million on two brand-new drilling rigs, all in a bid to give Nigeria's crude oil production a serious kick and beef up the country's own ability to drill.
Through its special unit, Scorpio Drilling International, Nestoil recently got the Pathfinder 500 rig working on Oil Mining Lease (OML) 42. They finished up some work on two wells that are already pumping oil, and they didn't have a single Health, Safety, or Environment (HSE) incident. That's good going.
This Pathfinder 500 rig is now officially in productive service for the first time since Nestoil bought it about eight years ago. It actually helped increase the oil flow from OML 42, which is a pretty big deal for the asset.
Dr. Ernest Azudialu Obiejesi, the Chairman of Nestoil/Neconde Group, is beaming about this. He's calling the successful deployment of the Pathfinder 500 a massive win, not just for his company, but for Nigeria's entire indigenous drilling scene.
Obiejesi says it's all about breaking free from the chains of hiring expensive drilling equipment. Apparently, getting your hands on those rigs in Nigeria has become a real headache, both in terms of availability and cost. Since Nestoil actually owns a piece of OML 42, they need a reliable way to do the essential work. This includes fixing up old wells and bringing them back to life, and eventually, drilling new ones as the field develops. With the Pathfinder 500 now humming along, they're ready to get their in-field drilling plans for OML 42 rolling.
The entire job of fixing up, hiring crew for, and running the Pathfinder 500 was handled by Nigerians. Every single person on the current crew is Nigerian. Obiejesi credits this to the decades of training and development that international oil companies have been doing in the country, building up a pool of skilled local talent. Nigeria now has enough technical know-how to handle even complex drilling jobs. Nigerian workers are now offering their skills in other oil-producing countries too.
He made sure to give props to the teams at Scorpio Drilling International and everyone else involved in getting the Pathfinder 500 back on its feet and into productive use. It's a clear sign that when we invest in our own, we can achieve great things.
With Scorpio Drilling International now owning two working rigs, it's a direct contribution to building up Nigeria's own drilling muscle. This is about creating a self-sufficient industry, less reliant on the outside world for critical services.