Seplat Energy is bracing for a major production boost in coming months. The Lagos and London-listed firm will restart its Yoho offshore platform before June ends, ending an extended maintenance shutdown that weighed on first-quarter output.
In results published Thursday, the independent oil company reported impressive early April figures. Daily production hit roughly 153,000 barrels of oil equivalent over the first 26 days of the month.
That number sits comfortably within Seplat's full-year guidance of 135,000 to 155,000 boepd. It's even more striking because Yoho hasn't returned yet.
Chief Executive Officer Roger Brown sounded confident about the company's trajectory. "April to date production has averaged approximately 153 kboepd, showing what our assets can deliver," he noted in the statement.
Brown added that Yoho's restart and ramping up of the ANOH facility will drive further gains. The platform sits in the offshore Niger Delta region.
Seplat took Yoho offline late last year for repairs. Over 60 kilometres of cabling got replaced during the shutdown.
Workers also completed nearly 400 piping spool replacements on the platform. The company front-loaded additional maintenance work to reduce disruptions down the road.
First-quarter results reflected the extended downtime. Group production averaged 129,841 boepd, down one percent from the prior year's 131,745 boepd.
Operating costs climbed sharply to $17.1 per barrel equivalent. Management had guided toward $13.5 to $14.5 per barrel.
The spike came from Yoho maintenance spending and fixed costs spread across lower volumes. Officials expect unit costs to normalise as production climbs back up.
Beyond Yoho, Seplat's growth story has other drivers. Its ANOH gas plant began operations in January and delivered results immediately.
First-quarter working interest volumes from the Eastern Assets plant reached 17 million standard cubic feet daily. A Trans Niger Pipeline bottleneck has constrained condensate evacuation so far.
Pipeline operators plan a three-week shutdown in the second quarter for repairs. Seplat expects faster throughput afterwards.
By late April, ANOH was running at roughly half capacity. It's already reached peak rates near 193 million standard cubic feet per day.
Seplat's idle well restoration programme also contributed to growth. Eight restored wells added 10,000 barrels daily in the first quarter.
Since launching, the programme has restored 58 wells with cumulative additions of 58,600 barrels daily. Total costs hit $83 million.
Management calls the returns strongly value-accretive for shareholders. The company expects to accelerate well work as barge availability improves.
