EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION

The Exploration and Production (E&P) Directorate is the core of the business of Nile Petroleum Corporation (NILEPET), and is charged with participation, facilitation and monitoring of all upstream (exploration, development and production) activities in concession blocks operated by the Joint Operating Companies (JOCs).

The Directorate has four departments and is headed by a Deputy Managing Director/Director General (DMD/DG). The departments, Exploration, Development, Operations, and Production and Facilities play an important role of providing technical support to NILEPET and its affiliates, JOCs and the Government of South Sudan.

The Exploration Department carries out exploration activities in search for oil and gas starting from blocks promotion and licensing, seismic surveys, wild cat and appraisal wells sites identification, basins modelling and G&G studies. The Exploration Department play the following roles in conjunction with the JOCs:

1. To participate and monitor the implementation of geological and geophysical (seismic acquisition, processing, interpretation and mapping) activities including G&G studies.
2. Participate in exploration planning and ensure that all exploration wells drilling activities are conducted in a proper manner.

The Development department is responsible for the systematic and timely transformation of petroleum resources into reserves through integration of subsurface inputs in order to formulate an optimum Field Development Plan (FDP) which leads to facilities design, i.e. it is the custodian of the resources management throughout exploration & production cycle.

The Development Department’s role is to participate, facilitate, monitor and evaluate the development plans carried out by the JOCs which includes:

1. Initiation of Field Development Projects (FDP) studies and to decide Economic Evaluation of projects to determine the profitability of oil fields during their life-time, and the cash flow allocation.
2. Recommendation on number of development wells to be drilled.
3. Planning for wells completion & work over jobs for wells maintenance and/or perforation of newly identified potential zones.
4. Production Forecasting during the life-time of oil fields.
5. Planning for liquid lifting mechanism whether naturally or artificially (pumps).
6. Adopting oil production enhancement strategy through water injection or any other advanced technology.
7. Management of Reservoirs during the Production Life Cycle.
8. Monitor the implementation of the recommended Field Development Plans (FDPs) from studies.

The role of Operations department is to implement drilling projects for both Exploration and Development departments and field operations in other departments; currently, the department’s role is to plan, monitor and evaluate the JOCs related operations which include:

1. Well planning
2. Wells drilling operations (exploration, development and water wells for the local community).
3. Coordination of Contractors and Reporting.
4. Geology Operations (Wire-line logging, Mud Logging, Coring etc).
5. Wells completion.
6. Rigs inspection.
7. Work-over operations.
8. Material Supply (Fuel, spare parts, chemicals, drilling mud materials cementing materials etc).
9. Construction activities (roads, well pads, water treatment projects, production facilities like Power Plants (PP), Pipeline, Storage etc).
10. Waste management (Environmental monitoring and remediation).

Generally, Production and Facilities Department is two folds, Production is established to take care of the oil and gas production monitoring and evaluation while facilities management includes engineering, procurement, consultancy and commissioning (EPCC) for production facilities (PP, FPF, FSF, CPF & etc.).

Production and facilities department activities include:

1. To Monitor and evaluate daily production to observe the challenges and motivations.
2. To manage resource depletion.
3. To devise prudent strategies to sustain and maximize oil production.
4. To ensure Safe and reliable design, Procurement, Construction & Commissioning of all upstream development Facilities which includes; Field Surface facilities (FSF), Field Processing Facilities (FPF), Central Processing Facilities(CPF), Power Plants (PP), Power Distribution, Power Transmission & Water injection (WI) Plants in order to accommodate the daily production.
5. To debottleneck the existing production facilities to improve their efficiency.

Mandate:

As mandated by law, NILEPET being the National Oil and Gas Corporation of the Government of South Sudan enforces has a participating interest in all oil and gas consortia operating in the country. This is to safeguard the national interest.

Apart from JOCs still in exploration phase, there are three producing JOCs, namely Dar Petroleum Operating Company (DPOC), Greater Pioneer Operating Company (GPOC) and Sudd Petroleum Operating Company (SPOC) with different concession areas/blocks and shareholders as summarized below.

After independence in July 2011, South Sudan came out with Petroleum Act 2012 and resized the previous Sudan-inherited blocks to suit the new state policies.