Ejiofor Alike
The performances of Century Energy Services Limited and Oilserv Limited in the areas of development of competence and capability soared in 2016 operating year, despite the challenges facing the global oil industry in the past two and half years.
The 2016 scorecards presented by the two firms at the weekend showed that the firms have demonstrated expertise in their respective fields in the areas of engineering, fabrication and construction, marine and subsea services, pipeline system, pipeline leak/clamping, operation and maintenance, among others.
This increasing indigenous capacity and capability has drastically reduced skills gap that hitherto existed in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry hence giving fillip to the increased advocacy by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) and Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board for award of more jobs to Nigerian companies with such competences.
The scorecards showed that Oilserv Limited is handling the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)’s 67 kilometres x 48 inches gas transmission pipeline system from Delta State to Edo State.
The company is also working on East-West pipeline popularly called Obiafu, Obrikom, Oben (OB3) gas pipeline, which is expected to boost domestic gas supply by two billion standard cubic feet per day (2bscf/d) on completion.
The $400 million gas pipeline project, which is scheduled for completion in July this year, according to Oilserv Managing Director, Mr. Emeka Okwuosa, is a 48-inch pipeline that covers about 120 kilometres.
The 2016 scorecard of Century Energy Services Limited (CESL), a frontline oil service firm, also showed that the firm contributed to the realisation of Aje oilfield as a field with commercial oil reserves, thus bringing Lagos State into the league of oil producing states.
The Aje wells (both completed in upper and lower Cenomanian reservoirs) are subsea wells tied back to a 40,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd), 18 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d) of gas, and Floating Production Storage and Offtake (FPSO) vessel – the Front Puffin FPSO.
Century Energy Services Limited is the operation and maintenance service provider for the Front Puffin FPSO, providing production operations management, facility maintenance and marine support for the Aje field, which is operated by Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum.
According to the company, CESL has maintained an age-long working relationship with operators of the Aje field, Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum, to bring the asset from a mere concept, 20 years ago to full commercialisation in May 2016.
Aje field is the first oilfield outside the Niger Delta to produce commercial volumes of hydrocarbons, which has helped in no small measure to prove the prospectivity of other frontier basins in Nigeria.
It is also the first and only oilfield in Nigeria where exploration and appraisal activities have been undertaken solely by indigenous Nigerian companies without the direct involvement of an international oil company (IOC).
CESL’s had also pledged to continue to deliver cost-effective operation and maintenance services on the Aje FPSO, in addition to providing further field development support and production optimisation input on the asset. Despite the huge decline in oil prices, which triggered a global cut back in investments, projects capex and opex reviews, deferments, cancellations and contract renegotiation, CESL remained committed to the Aje project development.
“These were trying times but as a company, we will continue to assure business sustainability for continued value creation in the Industry. Some companies like us brought creativity to play and this kept them going. The risks faced, with grave implications on revenue base, capacity to employ and support social investments, did not deter some players like us in the Industry because we had to think out of the box and delivered world class services,” CESL said.
