Mkpoikana Udoma
21 September 2017, Sweetcrude, Port Harcourt – In a bid to improve and accelerate local capacity development in the petroleum industry, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC has affirmed its commitment to strengthening of the Nigerian Content Law.
Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, gave the affirmation while commissioning the last batch of the Egina Manifold Sail-Away constructed by Aveon Offshore Limited in Port Harcourt, the oil hub of the country.
Baru commended Aveon Offshore Limited for the fabrication and loadout of the Subsea structures which include six manifolds associated suction piles, various Subsea tree frame elements, jumpers and controls systems of the Egina SPS Module.
He assured that with the completion of the Manifold Sail-Away, the race to first oil from Egina field by fourth quarter of 2018 is guaranteed.
“On our part, NNPC is strongly committed to the successful implementation of all provisions of thee Nigerian Content Act to improve and accelerate local capacity development in all our projects.
“The Act has govern rise to opportunities within the industry, these include emergence of new local vendors and suppliers, training and mentoring of appreciable number of young engineers, improvement of artisanal skills and other new skill sets critical to the industry.
“Along the line, the project has also created several thousands of employment opportunities and, directly or indirectly, supported hundreds of thousands of livelihoods.
“There will be room for more of these opportunities in the nearest future as we are fully committed and determined to achieving sustainable domestication of a large percentage of the other modules on the Egina project as well as other projects.”
Dr. Baru, also announced that despite the over 4million man-hours expended on the module, there was no loss-time injury and the cost of the project till date is within budget.
He commended the efforts of of FMC and Total E & P to local capacity development as wells as to Egina Project Director and management team, subcontractors, welders, fitters, fabricators and the host communities for their contribution to the successful completion of the Egina Manifold Sail-Away.
Similarly, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Wabote, stated that since the enactment of Nigerian Content Act in 2010, the Egina project has provided opportunities for Nigerian companies to demonstrate their capacity and maturity.
Wabote said with the stride, Aveon Offshore Limited can be counted among the heavy fabrication yards in the country with fabrication capacity of 10,000 tonnage per annum and staff strength of over 600.
“In support of investment like this, the Board will soon embark on the categorization of fabrication yards and other major services in companies for specific work scope in a way that will facilitate contract opportunities.”
He assured that the measures would enhance transparency and further boost investor confidence and shorten contracting cycle.
.
