29 December 2011, Sweetcrude, LAGOS – Caverton Helicopters of Nigeria has taken delivery of three medium twin-engine Agusta Westland helicopters for offshore transport duties in support of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.
The helicopters are to be ferried from the Agusta factory in Vergiate, Italy to Nigeria and expected to commence commercial operations in the first quarter of 2012.
The AW139 is a new generation medium twin-engine helicopter offering unmatched performance, capacity and safety. It meets the most stringent civil and government certification standards, and is powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6C-67C engines.
The company said its fleet will be the 12-passenger offshore configuration.
“Caverton Helicopters will be joining a group of over 140 customers from 50 countries that have ordered over AW139 helicopters to perform a wide range of roles also including offshore transport, EMS/SAR, VIP/corporate transport, law enforcement, utility and government missions,” it said.
Adeniyi Makanjuola, the Executive Vice Chairman of Caverton Helicopters said: “We are happy to introduce the AW139 to our growing fleet, this step will allow us to expand our presence in the regions’ helicopter market as new opportunities continue to present themselves.”
The AW 139 helicopters will be operating in Nigeria’s deepwater region which is strategic to stakeholders’ plans to raise Nigeria’s crude oil reserves to 40 billion barrels, up from the current reserve of about 25 billion barrels. The deep and ultra-deepwater regions are crucial to the realisation of these plans and offshore helicopter support services will play a central role in these aspirations.
