Fresh hopes have emerged for the successful implementation of the Egina oil and gas project valued at about 3..8 billion dollars, following a renewed pact between the technical facilitators, LADOL and Samsung Heavy Industries.
The project otherwise known as Egina Floating Production Storage and Offtake (FPSO) earlier awarded to the two organizations, is now taking off under a fresh Joint Venture (JV) partnership called, SHI-MCI Free Zone Enterprise.
Already, the project to be cited at the Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics (LADOL) base in Apapa has taken off with the LADOL and Samsung jointly investing about $300 million in the creation of the new facility.
The construction of the facility is expected to last for 18 months and once completed, it will be capable of fabricating 1,000 tons per month as well as integrating all other FPSOs expected to be built in Nigeria for the next decades.
Managing Directors of the JV, Mr. KS Lee and Dr. Amy Jadesimi, in a joint statement on behalf of Samsung and LADOL, respectively, said the project is set to generate a whopping 50,000 direct and indirect jobs in Nigeria over the next few years.
The project, which has been described as first of its kind in Africa, is being built for Total Upstream Nigeria Limited, being the operator of the oil field, as well as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The project is being encouraged by the provisions of the Nigeria’s Local Content Act 2010, which mandates the domestication of up to 70 percent of oil and gas activities, a move that is expected to put the country at par with Brazil, the world sixth largest economy.
In a note of excitement, the JV bosses described the project as “one of the largest FPSO in the world with a storage capacity of 2.3 million barrels, and a targeted production capacity of 200,000 barrels per day.
“In short, billions of dollars that are currently spent overseas will be domesticated in Nigeria for the first time and billions of dollars in new revenues will be earned from market expansion.
“This increase in in-country capacity will position Nigeria to become West Africa’s hub, generate sustainable long term GDP growth required for Nigeria to become one of the world’s leading economies in line with vision 2020”, they said.
Industry watchers believe the siting of the project at LADOL base being the only 100 percent indigenous oil and gas company in the country, with the strong backing of Korea-based Samsung Heavy Industries will boost local content endeavor in the country.
According to analysts, building the facility will significantly increase the sizes of the fabrication, engineering, procurement, training, design and raw materials such as steel and allied markets in Nigeria.
The essence of the facility according to Jadesimi and Lee, is to ensure that large vessels including FPSOs are integrated (partially constructed and assembled) in Nigeria.
The JV operators expressed their gratitude to the Petroleum Resourses Minister, Mrs Dieziani Alison-Madueke, as well as the management of NNPC, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board and Total for making the commencement of the project a reality.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.