Total to invest in Nigerian oil and gas fields

French oil giant Total

French oil giant Total is to invest seven billion dollars (5.16 billion euros) in Nigerian oil and gas exploration and production over the next four to five years, the firm told AFP yesterday.
The Nigerian presidency had earlier announced that the plan would involve around 20 billion dollars, but Total said it is working on projects with other partners and that its own investment was lower than reported.
Two of the projects have already been announced – the development of the Usan deep water offshore field, which will go into production in 2012, and the exploration of oil block OML 58 in the Niger Delta.
Two more areas are being studied, a company spokesman said.
Nigeria's acting president, Vice President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, issued a statement welcoming Total's involvement after meeting Total's Yves Louis Darricarrere, head of the group's exploration and production division.
The presidency said that in addition to investing in gas and deepwater exploration, it expected Total to play a role in the completing of plans to build a liquefied natural gas export terminal in Brass.
The statement said Total's confidence proved that there had been an improvement in the business environment in the Niger Delta since a recent amnesty programme aimed at ending the conflict there.
Last June, the government offered an amnesty to rebels who laid down their guns after a three-year campaign of violence against the country's multi-billion-dollar oil industry.
The campaign, which involved repeated attacks on oil installations and the kidnap of foreign oil workers, slashed Nigeria's daily oil output.
From a peak of 2.6 million barrels in 2006, production fell to as low as one million barrels. Since the recent amnesty programme came into effect, production has improved to two million barrels.
According to the Nigerian statement, Darricarrere praised the amnesty programme and said Total would take advantage of the relative peace in the region to increase its investments.