Local Content: How Nigerian engineers built 20,000bpd oil drilling platform with local materials

Nigeria’s quest to become a productive nation exporting local innovation across the world received a big push weekend when a joint venture between the Nigerian Petroleum Company Limited, NNPC, FIRST Exploration and Petroleum Company and Dorman Long Engineering Nigerian Naval Dockyard, produced an oil drilling platform capable of adding 20,000 barrels per day to the country’s total offshore production

Tagged Madu Conductor Supported Platform, CSP, the oil drilling platform was built by local engineers, Dorman Long Engineering Limited. It could enable initial gas conservation and monetisation in the near term when operational in September 2022.

At the official load-out of the newly constructed oilfield platform at the Nigerian Naval Dockyard, Lagos, the partners were upbeat that Nigeria was on the right path with local content to reverse the current trend where Nigeria is known largely as a consumer nation.

They believed that very soon, Nigeria will be exporting the local technology to other parts of the world because of its high capability of solving global problem.

Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director, FIRST Exploration and Petroleum (E&P) Development Company Limited, Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, said: “This platform is a critical and integral infrastructure for the next phase of growth within the OML 85 Asset. Engaging an indigenous company for its construction is a testament to the belief and commitment of the   NNPC/FIRST E&P’s OML 83/85 Joint Venture   to the Nigerian Local content initiative.

“The CSP is a small platform that can contain eight to 10 wells, which when operational, will run at a unit cost of less than $10 per barrel, in line with the government’s directive of producing and developing oil and gas for less than $20. This is in addition to the Anyala Field investment in the delivery of oil production wells and necessary hydrocarbon processing and handling infrastructure (CSP, FPSO), which continues to sustain over 40,000 barrels of oil per day, thereby, generating stable revenue/income for the country”.

Adeyemi-Bero said the target was to work assiduously to ensure a production capacity of 100, 000 barrels of oil and gas per day to help boost local employment and help the country become self-reliant

Also, Chairman, Dorman Long Engineering Nigerian Naval Dockyard, Dr Timi Austen- Peters, said the project is the pride of Nigeria, considering that apart from a few plates which were imported, every other material used in building the platform was sourced and formed locally.

He said: “Producing about 20, 0000 barrels of oil and gas daily from a locally built platform, at a unit cost of less than $10 helps Nigeria significantly considering it has been struggling to meet its OPEC quota.

“Again, it adds to the domestication of expenditure, employment of Nigerians and training of youths which are critical to economic transformation. With this we are not looking for dollars to import materials or pay foreign workers. We are rather paying our fellow Nigerians in our local currency, as much as we are giving youths opportunity to get training. We are domesticating expertise and skills. We are making sure we keep everything in the country,” he said.

Meanwhile, an elated Admiral Superintendent, Naval Dockyard Limited, Rear Admiral, Hamza Ibrahim, commended Dorman Long Engineering for being professional and abiding by the rules of the naval barracks throughout the duration of the construction of the platform, adding that Nigeria is a huge beneficiary to the new development.

He said: “The Naval dockyard enables Nigeria to build capacity in terms of maintenance and building of military vessels by providing an enabling environment for this project to be built here. This project is an integral part of acquiring sea power and enhancing maritime activities in Nigeria, which the Navy by the constitution is mandated to protect the maritime environment.

“We wish to see Nigeria develop capacity in terms of self-reliance in building facilities of this nature, which is one of the major strategic reasons the Federal Government acquired the Naval Dockyard”.

Also the Group General Manager, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Mr. Bala Wunti, commended the partners for a job well done and promised that having successfully delivered the phase-1A scope of Anyala-Madu field development project despite the uncertainties of the Covid-19 pandemic, NAPIMS would support the Joint Venture to deliver on Phase-1b,considering that the Madu field will raise the total JV production capacity to approximately 60,000 barrels of oil per day and help eliminate gas flaring. Wunti, was represented by the General Manager, Joint Venture Operation, Mr Buduwara Zakariya.

Load-out of the newly constructed oilfield platform was done in the presence of Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON, represented by the  Deputy Director, MSC, Engr Nwaoma Olujie. Olujie confirmed that all material used in the platform passed standard tests, adding that Dorman Long is a reliable local company certified by SON.