Green Energy International Limited (GEIL) has announced the commencement of crude oil export operations from the newly developed Otakikpo Onshore Crude Oil Export Terminal in Rivers State.
This made GEIL the first Nigerian indigenous onshore crude export terminal in over 50 years.
The facility, which saw its maiden cargo lifted by a Shell-chartered off-taker vessel at approximately 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 8, is designed to be a decentralised export solution capable of revitalising over 40 stranded marginal oil fields in the country.
With an initial investment of over $400 million and a full-phase development projection of $1.3 billion, the Otakikpo terminal represents a major milestone in Nigeria’s upstream and midstream infrastructure expansion.
The terminal currently has a crude storage capacity of 750,000 barrels, with a scalable design to increase capacity to three million barrels.
Additionally, the terminal features a 360,000 barrels per day (bpd) pumping capacity and is equipped to accommodate up to 250,000 bpd of crude injection. These capabilities position it as a strategic asset in improving Nigeria’s crude oil evacuation and export operations.
Anthony Adegbulugbe, Chairman of GEIL, described the development as a historic breakthrough, attributing the project’s successful and early completion to divine grace, staff resilience, and regulatory oversight.
“This is the first privately developed and operated crude oil terminal by an African entity, and it was completed ahead of schedule in under two years,” he said in a statement.
The terminal is located in the Otakikpo marginal field and is part of GEIL’s broader infrastructure plan to unlock production potential from Nigeria’s underutilised oil assets.
The Otakikpo field currently produces approximately 10,000 bpd, but the terminal is designed to provide third-party access to over 40 nearby stranded oil fields, collectively estimated to hold more than three billion barrels of oil equivalent (BOE).
Nigeria’s oil production has struggled in recent years due to ageing infrastructure and logistical challenges. The cost of oil production remains high—estimated at $48 per barrel in some fields—undermining profitability and deterring investment.
The commissioning of the Otakikpo terminal addresses this bottleneck by offering a more efficient and commercially viable export route.
GEIL stated that the terminal’s decentralised architecture will decongest reliance on existing export terminals, reduce transportation costs, and improve turnaround times for off-takers.
The company also noted strong collaboration with regulatory agencies throughout the development process, which ensured compliance and operational readiness.
This development comes as Nigeria intensifies efforts to boost crude production and diversify its export infrastructure in line with broader national objectives under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
The Otakikpo terminal is expected to contribute significantly to domestic production targets and enhance investor confidence in indigenous-led infrastructure projects.
The terminal’s activation also supports the government’s long-standing goal of reducing dependence on foreign-built facilities while increasing local participation in the oil and gas value chain.
With crude export now underway, GEIL’s Otakikpo project is poised to become a critical node in Nigeria’s energy logistics network, unlocking stranded reserves, attracting investment, and supporting long-term production growth across the Niger Delta region.
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