Petralon 54 Limited, a firm licensed to carry out exploration, production and disposal of hydrocarbons, has said it engaged Barge FP Amangwu to barge legally produced and government-authorised crude oil.
It said in a statement that it would barge the crude oil from its operated Dawes Island Marginal Field to the Ajapa FSO, operated by Britannia-U Nigeria Limited, which is the offtake terminal.
The statement said, “We have followed with keen interest reports of the exchange between our erstwhile vendor, First Priority Resources International Limited, the operators of Barge FP Amangwu and security operatives (men of Operation Delta Safe and Tantita Security Services), and wish to highlight some facts of our transaction with the vendor in question.
“Not being sea-going, the Barge was berthed at NPA Jetty, Warri pending offtake of the crude oil onboard by a sea-going vessel.”
Upon completion of the contract on March 28, 2023, it was disclosed that all the tanks of the Barge FP Amangwu, were fully evacuated with all crude conveyed pumped out, except the cumulative residual volume of ca. 100 barrels at the bottom of the tanks that pumps could not pick up.
This fact, it stressed, could be attested to by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, the relevant oil and gas operations regulator that supervised and signed off on the evacuation operation and ensured the barge was emptied.
To clarify the misconception surrounding this issue, the firm said, the Barge was released by Petralon 54 Limited to its owners-First Priority- on March 30, 2023, at the NPA Jetty in Warri, Delta State, which signalled the end of the contract between Petralon 54 Limited and First Priority, the operators of Barge FP Amangwu.
The Barge, it added was subsequently moved to Ejovi Jetty, located in Warri, Delta State, by its owners on April 17, 2023.
