Yemisi Izuora
About 65 Nigerian contractor and subcontractor companies were involved in the Turn Around Maintenance, TAM, of the Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, SNEPCo’s, Bonga deep water oil field completed in April this year.
According to the company, over 1,000 people were also involved, spread across worksites and vessels, in the exercise described as the biggest in scope in the 12-year history of the asset.
Managing Director of SNEPCo, Mr. Bayo Ojulari, revealed last week in Lagos that the engagement of Nigerian contractor and sub-contractor companies was one of the high-points of the Bonga TAM, so also the involvement of 1,000 people in the exercise directed at carrying out statutory and regulatory safety checks; inspections, repairs and replacement of equipment, and upgrades on the Bonga Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel, in order to ensure safety, optimum production, and availability and reliability.
Speaking further on how the exercise promoted local content through the engagement of Nigerian contractor companies and personnel, Ojulari said: “The exercise stimulated growth of support industries vital to deep-water asset management.
“It provided a wider benefit to the Nigerian economy by boosting demand for a range of goods and services including offshore vessels and platforms, materials, floating hotel and helicopters.”
According to him, the turnaround witnessed an optimisation of resources and was safely completed within schedule. The exercise included statutory and regulatory checks and inspections; repairs and replacement of equipment; and upgrade of facilities.
A critical success factor, according to Ojulari, was the collaboration by more than 10 functions who benchmarked their contributions against a robust execution plan. Procuring materials from Original Equipment Manufacturers, OEMs, saved cost and ensured seamless delivery, and the project team sourced key equipment and carried out fabrications within Nigeria.
This innovation, he said, marked a turning point in SNEPCo’s efforts to develop the capabilities of Nigerian companies in the provision of goods and services in deep-water oil and gas production.
Ojulari expressed delight at the increasing number of women on the frontline, noting that more women were involved at every stage of the turnaround compared to any of the three previous exercises. “I’m very pleased that over 95 percent of these women are Nigerians and they add to our growing pool of Nigerian deep-water professionals produced through the asset,” he said.
He commended the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and its co-venture partners for their timely support in the safe delivery of the turnaround.
SNEPCo is credited with producing the first generation of Nigerian deep-water oil and gas engineers, and in 2016, Bonga won ‘Asset of the Year’ Award in the Shell Group.
Bonga is Nigeria’s first deep-water development in depths of more than 1,000 metres, and is located 120km offshore Nigeria. The Bonga Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel receives crude and gas from production wells on the seabed and has the capacity to produce 225,000 barrels of oil and 210 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.
SNEPCo operates Bonga in partnership with Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deep Water) Limited, Total E&P Nigeria Limited and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited under a Production Sharing Contract with the NNPC.