Nigeria is set to inaugurate its first new onshore crude export terminal in over five decades, a move which could provide a long-awaited lift for indigenous oil producers and ease persistent logistical bottlenecks.

The $400 million Otakikpo terminal, located in Ikuru town, Rivers State, is scheduled to begin operations on October 8 under the supervision of President Bola Tinubu.

Developed by Green Energy International Limited (GEIL), the facility is the country’s first wholly indigenous onshore terminal since the Forcados Terminal opened in 1971. Nigerian local media report that the terminal is expected to unlock millions of barrels from more than 40 previously stranded oil fields, a development seen as critical for achieving Nigeria’s crude output target of three million barrels per day.

With an initial storage capacity of 750,000 barrels, expandable to three million, and a loading capacity of 360,000 barrels per day, analysts say the terminal could materially lower production costs for local operators while reducing the evacuation constraints that have historically limited output in the Niger Delta.