Nigeria-focused producer Sahara Upstream has deployed a new 380,000-barrel tanker, the MT D Adesanya, to boost crude evacuation from Nigeria’s OML 18 as the company works to lift production from 36,000 to 60,000 barrels per day. The medium-range vessel will operate alongside the MT B Bayero at Bonny Anchorage, taking on crude from shuttle vessels before transferring it to the 2.2-million-barrel Cawthorne floating storage facility commissioned in October 2025.
Sahara Upstream Chief Value Officer Dr. Tosin Etomi said the new tanker reflects the company’s commitment to building capacity for sustainable production growth, adding that it strengthens evacuation infrastructure and operational reliability. Sahara Group expects the additional vessel to cut crude transfer turnaround times by 30 to 40 hours while lifting monthly exports by half, from around 950,000 barrels to more than 1.5 million barrels.
OML 18 covers 1,035 square kilometres in the Eastern Niger Delta and holds an estimated 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent across ten fields, with output concentrated in five. It has been producing since 1970, making it one of the Niger Delta’s oldest assets, and is now run by a joint venture of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, Eroton Exploration and Production, Bilton Energy and Sahara Group, which holds a 16.2% stake through its subsidiary Sahara Field Production.
Source: prospect-intel.com
