Seplat Petroleum Development Company a Nigeria based exploration and Production Company has announced a Crude Purchase Agreement (CPA) with Waltersmith Petroman Oil Limited (Waltersmith).

The CPA is for the supply of between 2,000 and 4,000 bopd from existing working-interest production from the Ohaji South Field within OML53, for Waltersmith’s new 5,000 bopd modular refinery at Ibigwe Field, in Imo State. Waltersmith Refining & Petrochemical Company Limited (WRPC) is currently developing a 50,000bpd refinery situated near the Ibigwe Field flow station through a phased expansion strategy. The first phase which is the 5,000bpd was commissioned on the 24^th of November and is expected to deliver about 271 million litres of refined petroleum products into the domestic and regional market consisting of Heavy Fuel Oil, Dual Purpose Kerosene and Automotive Gas Oil.

Previously, Seplat’s share of Ohaji South crude was primarily evacuated to the export Terminal via a third-party Crude Handling Agreement with Waltersmith. This new agreement benefits Seplat by selling its crude oil directly to Waltersmith for refining, thereby eliminating crude losses and downtime experienced along the evacuation and export route. The transaction would also boost the capacity of Waltersmith in providing its products particularly to the immediate region of our operations thereby supporting Seplat’s commitment to national energy security. Seplat maintains its guidance of 48,000 – 52,000 boepd for the 2020 financial year.

“We are delighted to sign this Crude Purchase Agreement with Waltersmith as it ensures that Nigerian crude will be refined locally by a Nigerian refiner. The agreement will eliminate losses we previously experienced on the export pipeline, meaning more revenue will be booked by Seplat for the same amount of oil produced from the field. Waltersmith’s refinery will also benefit the Nigerian economy by creating local jobs to refine our oil,” Roger Brown, Chief Executive of Seplat, said.