Tinubu commissions crude oil terminal in Rivers, Nigeria’s first in 50 years, boosting indigenous production and unlocking stranded oil fields
Tinubu commissions crude oil terminal in a historic move, unveiling Nigeria’s first new crude export facility in over 50 years.
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The $400 million Otakikpo Onshore Terminal, located in Ikuru Town, Rivers State, marks a significant milestone for Nigeria’s energy sector and indigenous oil production.
President Bola Tinubu is set to inaugurate the terminal on 8 October 2025, alongside top government officials including the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, and Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara.
Developed by Green Energy International Limited (GEIL), operators of the Otakikpo field in OML 11, the terminal is Nigeria’s first wholly indigenous onshore crude export terminal—a feat last achieved with the commissioning of the Forcados Terminal in 1971.
According to a statement by GEIL’s Executive Director of Legal and Corporate Services, Olusegun Ilori, the project aligns with President Tinubu’s renewed push to ramp up crude production while cutting costs.
“This project is a strategic infrastructure that supports the administration’s commitment to raising output while reducing costs,” Ilori noted.
Evacuation challenges have long hindered Nigeria’s oil output, with stranded reserves locked beneath undeveloped fields due to inadequate logistics.
The Otakikpo terminal aims to resolve this, offering a reliable outlet for over 40 stranded oil fields.
The facility boasts a starting storage capacity of 750,000 barrels, scalable to three million barrels, and can load 360,000 barrels per day.
Experts project this will significantly lower production costs for indigenous producers while boosting Nigeria’s crude exports.
Chairman of GEIL, Professor Anthony Adegbulugbe, hailed the project as “game-changing national infrastructure.”
“What we have achieved here is not just a storage solution but a pathway for about 40 stranded oil fields to finally contribute to the economy,” he said.
The commissioning signals renewed efforts by the Federal Government to rebuild investor trust in Nigeria’s embattled oil industry, which has suffered from oil theft, vandalism, declining output, and spiralling operational costs.
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The Otakikpo terminal represents more than just infrastructure—it symbolises a revival of indigenous capacity in a sector long dominated by foreign interests.
