WorldStage Newsonline- Nigeria’s indigenous energy company, Green Energy International Limited (GEIL) has lifted its first crude cargo from the recently-completed over $400 million Otakikpo onshore terminal, situated near Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The terminal with 750,000 barrels storage capacity and 360,000 barrels per day export capacity in OML 11 marks a significant milestone as Nigeria’s first indigenous onshore crude export terminal in over five decades.
According to the operator, the facility received its maiden cargo via a vessel chartered by energy major Shell in June 2025 with the crude transported from the Otakikpo marginal field – located in Rivers State and operated by Green Energy International – signaling the start of operations of the onshore terminal.
Construction started in 2023, with the terminal completed in June 2025, six-months ahead of schedule.
Green Energy International began injecting crude in March 2025, with production averaging 5,000 barrels per day.
Since March, the company has received regulatory approval to boost production to 30,000 bpd under a revised field development plan.
This aligns closely with ambitions by the company to scale-up Nigerian crude production, supporting African energy development.
The Otakikpo facility aligns closely with national goals of increasing crude storage and production to two million bpd, as it is expected to play a major role in processing crude from marginal fields.
The state-of-the-art facility has a storage capacity of 750,000 barrels, with plans underway to increase capacity to three million barrels, dependent on market demand.
The terminal also features an export capacity of 360,000 bpd, with crude transported via a 23-km 20-inch pipeline, connecting to a single point mooring system in the Atlantic Ocean.
This way, the terminal is capable of receiving crude from several marginal fields, allowing operators to significantly reduce transport costs by reducing the reliance on costly offshore floating stations. The terminal is also expected to unlock previously-stranded crude resources from more than 40 marginal fields across the region, with a capacity to receive up to 250,000 bpd from third-party producers. As such, the terminal offers a domestic solution to producing, storing and exporting crude, supporting national development goals.
The milestone comes as Nigeria strives to increase production through diversified field developments. Marginal fields have been designated as a priority area for the country, with the government implementing mechanisms to attract investment and development across these assets. Notably, in 2020, the government launched a marginal field bidding round to entice operators – both indigenous and international – to invest in these fields. The bid round drew over 591 companies seeking to develop 57 oilfields, with 161 companies shortlisted. Most of these firms represented indigenous operators, highlighting both the commitment by indigenous companies to invest in Nigerian oilfields and the level of opportunity in the company’s offshore market.
