President Bola Tinubu will inaugurate the $400m Otakikpo Onshore Crude Oil Export Terminal in Rivers on October 8.
It is Nigeria’s first new crude export facility since 1971, boosting output and lowering costs.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will on October 8 inaugurate the $400 million Otakikpo Onshore Crude Oil Export Terminal in Rivers State, marking Nigeria’s first new crude export facility in more than five decades.
The project, developed by Green Energy International Limited (GEIL), is located in Ikuru town, Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State. It is the first fully indigenous onshore terminal to be built in the country. The last time Nigeria commissioned such a facility was in 1971, when the Forcados Terminal came on stream.
According to GEIL, the new terminal will be a key addition to the nation’s oil infrastructure, helping to improve evacuation of crude and boost output. The company’s Executive Director of Legal and Corporate Services, Olusegun Ilori, said the terminal supports President Tinubu’s plan to increase production while cutting costs. “This project is a strategic infrastructure that supports the administration’s commitment to raising output while reducing costs,” he stated.
The inauguration is expected to draw top officials, including Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil) Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, and other industry stakeholders.
Nigeria’s oil industry has long faced evacuation challenges, which operators describe as a major barrier to achieving the Federal Government’s production target of three million barrels per day. The Otakikpo terminal is designed to serve as an outlet for more than 40 stranded oil fields, unlocking crude reserves that could not previously reach the market.
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 expected to lower costs for indigenous producers while strengthening the country’s export capacity.
GEIL Chairman and Chief Executive, Professor Anthony Adegbulugbe, described the terminal as a “game-changing national infrastructure.” He noted that it will provide a pathway for stranded oil fields to finally contribute to Nigeria’s economy.
