Sahara Group Targets Higher Production at Nigeria's OML 18 Oil Block
Sahara Group has deployed a new 380,000-barrel oil tanker to support crude exports from Nigeria's OML 18 oil block as the company works to increase production and improve export efficiency. The vessel, MT D Adesanya, will operate alongside the MT D Bayero at Bonny Anchorage before transferring crude to the FSO Cawthorne, a floating storage
Sahara Group Targets Higher Production at Nigeria's OML 18 Oil Block
Sahara Group has deployed a new 380,000-barrel oil tanker to support crude exports from Nigeria’s OML 18 oil block as the company works to increase production and improve export efficiency. The vessel, MT D Adesanya, will operate alongside the MT D Bayero at Bonny Anchorage before transferring crude to the FSO Cawthorne, a floating storage facility commissioned in October 2025. Sahara Group said the additional capacity is expected to reduce loading times and support higher export volumes from the offshore asset.
According to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), OML 18 currently produces about 36,000 barrels of oil per day. Sahara Group is targeting production of 60,000 barrels per day as part of ongoing investments in the block’s infrastructure.
Supporting Higher Production
Sahara Group expects the new tanker to reduce crude loading turnaround times from between 30 and 48 hours, helping increase monthly exports from approximately 950,000 barrels to more than 1.5 million barrels. Speaking to Daily Trust, Sahara Group Director of Value Tosin Etomi said the deployment of MT D Adesanya strengthens the company’s capacity to support long-term production growth.
The tanker is named in honour of Debola Adesanya, a Sahara Group executive who died in May.
Building on Indigenous Investment
OML 18 has produced oil since 1970 and is estimated to contain 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The asset changed ownership in 2015 when Shell, TotalEnergies and Eni sold their interests to Eroton Exploration and Production as part of a broader withdrawal from Nigeria’s onshore and shallow-water oil assets. Today, the block is operated by a partnership that includes NNPC Ltd, Eroton Exploration & Production, OML Eighteen Energy Resource Ltd., a Sahara Group subsidiary, and Bilton Ltd.
The deployment of MT D Adesanya follows the commissioning of the FSO Cawthorne last year, which Sahara Group describes as Nigeria’s first fully indigenous floating storage facility in five decades. The company also plans to use the facility to support crude exports from neighbouring oil fields as it expands its operations in the Niger Delta.
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