Following the commencement of the first oil production at the Aje field in May 2016, Panoro Energy, the London-based energy firm in partnership with operator Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Company Limited (YFP), announced in July that the first crude oil lifting for export from the Aje field would begin by the end of August.

The company, while announcing its second quarter 2016 results and operations updates on Tuesday, however said it expected to sell the first cargo of Aje crude during September and that Glencore Energy UK Limited had been selected for its offtake.

The firm confirmed that Nigerian regulators recently officially approved production and the export sale from Aje.

It said in the update that the average gross daily production at Aje as calculated from May to mid-August was 5,500 barrels of oil per day (bopd), which included the entire testing, commissioning, and approval period completed in mid-July.

“We expect to sell our first cargo of oil during September, representing the start of positive cash inflows from the Aje project.

“Realising the full potential at Aje is the key priority for the company and we remain focussed on moving the Dussafu project forward in Gabon,” he said.

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode had in May announced that Lagos had officially joined the League of Oil Producing States in Nigeria following the discovery of crude oil by YFP in the state.