Emmanuel Addeh
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has assured that the ongoing Total Exploration and Production Nigeria (TEPNG) pipe coating project in Rivers stats will create huge in-country opportunities when completed soon.
Executive Secretary of the board, Mr Simbi Wabote, stated that the Total Ikike Line Pipe Coating Project, which is ongoing at the Pipe Coaters Nigeria (PCN) facility in Onne Free Trade Zone, Rivers, was a major local content booster in the industry.
Wabote, who spoke when he inspected the project, hailed Total E&P for embarking on the Ikike project even during the period of Covid-19 pandemic, describing it as evidence that the company believes in Nigerian content development and the nation’s economy.
He hinted that the Ikike Subsea, Risers & Flowlines (SURF) Engineering Procurement Construction and Installation (EPCI) project would create jobs for numerous Nigerian youths, especially during the current downturn when most businesses and projects are shut down.
According to technical details of the project, the planned duration is five months and it involves 12 inches X 28km Line pipes that would be coated with 3LPE, 5LPP and Concrete Weight Coating (CWC).
“Additional services will include bends coating and anodes installation and they are scheduled to be completed by November 2020. This would be the first time in Africa that a facility would be applying CWC on top of a Thermal Insulation (5LPE) coated line pipe,” the company said.
Wabote, who was represented at the event by the General Manager Projects Certification and Authorisation Division (PCAD), NCDMB, Mr. Paul Zuhumben lauded PCN for developing the capacity to execute the job and showing that local companies now have the capabilities to match their foreign counterparts in the delivery of oil and gas projects to the highest quality and standards.
He noted that PCN had acquired experience that had spanned over two decades in Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG) pipe management, pipe threading and line pipe coating for deep water applications.
He thanked President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva for their commitment towards ensuring that the Ikike project continued despite the lull in the global business climate.
In his comments, the Operations Senior Manager of Tenaris/PCN, Mr. Ugochukwu Chijioke stated that the Ikike coating project would be fully executed by Nigerians.
He said it also offered the opportunity for the employment of over 300 direct personnel, adding that it will include training and the use of locally sourced materials.
He thanked the Executive Secretary and management of Total for making the project a reality and appealed to relevant stakeholders for more projects so that the skills and capabilities that were developed during the project can be retained.
Chijioke said the PCN was glad to be associated with the project for the Total/NNPC Joint Venture, adding that remarkable accomplishments that would be attained.
