Atlantic Energy Limited has said the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company Limited has executed four strategic alliance agreements (SAAs) with it to facilitate petroleum operations for Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 26, 30, 34 and 42.

The company said these SAAs were similar to the type NPDC executed with international oil companies (IOCs) including Agip and Sinopec over the last 10 years, which had resulted in the production in excess of 100 million barrels of crude oil.

SAA is an agreement for cooperation among two or more independent firms to work together toward common objectives. Unlike in a joint venture, firms in a strategic alliance do not form a new entity to further their aims but collaborate while remaining apart and distinct.

The Co-Chief Executive Officer of Atlantic Energy, Mr. Scott Aitken, made these known in his presentation titled: "Public - Private Partnership to Redevelop Brown Fields in Nigeria," at the 19th Africa Oil Week in Cape Town, South Africa, recently.

Aitken enthused that Atlantic Energy's recent alliance with the NPDC was a mutually rewarding. According to him, it was aimed at realising the development potential of the relevant brown field assets, which will reinforce NPDC 's position as the key national operating company, by funding equity participation, providing technical assistance, project management of specific key blocks and gas infrastructure and the development of reserves and other exploration opportunities.

Aitken noted that Nigeria had not been able to optimise oil and gas production till date, pointing out that Nigeria had hundreds of mostly undeveloped onshore discoveries due to a number of inhibiting factors ranging from funding constraints of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC); IOC portfolio ranking priorities as well as security, environmental and community legacy issues.

He stated that Atlantic Energy has partnered with the Nigerian Government through the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a wholly owned subsidiary of the NNPC to assist Nigeria optimise its oil and gas production.

He noted that the Nigerian average daily production of crude oil had fluctuated but not changed dramatically since the 1970s disclosing that Atlantic Energy had partnered with the NPDC, to assist the country optimise it's oil and gas production.