22 March 2012, Sweetcrude, LAGOS – Nigerdock, Nigeria’s shipbuilding and repairs company, has commenced construction of Ofon 2 platforms for French oil giant, Total, in Nigeria.
Anwar Jarmakani, chairman of Nigerdock, disclosed this in Lagos, saying Nigerian content and skill development was at the core of the company’s value.
President Goodluck Jonathan recently commisssioned the Abang and Itut platforms, fabricated and installed with 100 percent Nigerian manpower and content by Nigerdock for ExxonMobil.
Jarmakani stated that with the completion and commissioning of the two ExxonMobil platforms, his company has shifted attention to the construction of the Ofon 2 platforms.
It is expected that the new project will further give a boost to the Nigerian government’s local content policy, designed to ensure that certain categories of projects are executed within the country, with a view to growing local manpower, applying indgenous resources in execution of the projects and saving the country necessary foreign exchange.
Jarmakani disclosed that the construction of the ExxonMobil platforms involved over 2.5 million man-hours without any lost time incidents, adding that this record earned the indigenous ship builder a prestigious safety award from Mobil.
The Abang and Itut project, he also said, won Nigerdock, Project of the Year Award at this year’s Nigeria Oil & Gas Conference in Abuja.
