Ejiofor Alike
Total Exploration and Production (E &P) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) are investing $5.7 billion to upgrade the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 58 production facilities in order to boost domestic power supply in the country and meet federal government’s gas flare out policy.
Total is the operator of the NNPC/Total joint venture handling the OML 58 upgrade projects.
The Managing Director of Total E & P, Mr. Nicolas Terraz told journalists during a recent facility tour of the projects that $5.5 billion had already been spent.
According to him, the projects, which constitute the OML 58 upgrade include- Ogbogu Flow Station (OFS); Field Logistics Base (FLB); Obite Treatment Centre (OTC); Obite, Ubeta, Rumuji (OUR) pipeline and the Northern Option Pipeline (NOPL).
Terraz said the OML 58 upgrade projects were essentially designed to boost gas supply for both industrial and domestic use, and increase deliveries to the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) in Bonny Island.
The Total boss revealed that the upgrade of the 50-year old Ogbogu Flow Station oil treatment plant to increase production and improve safety, was a major challenge for the project team, adding that with the discovery of a network of underground pipes, the teams had a major obstacle to investigate the entire underground of flow station and finalise the designs.
Speaking on the NOPL, Terraz said the 300 million standard cubic feet per day of gas capacity NOPL, which would deliver 100mmscf/d of gas to Alaoji Power Plant, is a pipeline network that transverses 76 communities from Rumuji in Rivers State to the treatment plant in Owaza area of Imo River in Abia State.
According to him, the NOPL takes gas from the 42-inch 45km OUR pipeline at Rumuji through Obigbo to treatment plant at Owaza through a total of 50 kilometres, where the gas feeds into the facility of the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The 24-inch NOPL is a $900 million project, which will also supply feedstock to Alaoji Power Plant, Indorama and a fertiliser plant, as well as impact industries in Aba and environs via gas delivery by the NGC.
Terraz said the investment was a demonstration of his company’s support for the federal government’s aspiration on gas utilisation and improvement in power supply.
According to him, the project, which will be completed in July this year, also demonstrates Total’s commitment to and compliance with the Nigerian Content Law as over 84 per cent of project team are Nigerians.
He also spoke on the company’s OUR pipeline, which he described as a 42-inch gas pipeline, extending 45 kilometres from Obite via Ubeta to Rumuji in Rivers State.
Terraz said with the acquisition of 120 hectares of land to lay out the Right of Way, the pipeline crossed 20 different communities.
Speaking on the Field Logistics Base, Terraz said from a four-storey building, the field logistics base was modified to a 10-storey building with addition of new floors and modification of all the internal systems.
The Total boss also stated that a new flare has been erected at the company’s Obite Treatment Centre to reduce gas flaring, adding that a new train has also been installed to raise capacity.
