MG VOWGAS Inaugurates West Africa’s Largest Heat Treatment Facility in Rivers

•Wabote lauds firm for enhancing local content

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

The Nigerian oil and gas industry yesterday achieved a major milestone with the inauguration of the largest Stress Relieving Furnace in West Africa by MG VOWGAS Limited in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The company, a prominent player in the industry inaugurated its new Dish Head Forming Machine and celebrated a remarkable achievement of 2 million man hours without Lost Time Incidents (LTI).

This prestigious event which held in Woji axis of Port Harcourt, was attended by  industry experts, dignitaries, and key stakeholders and representatives from TotalEnergies, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), TechniFMC, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), among others.

The inauguration was carried out by the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr. Simbi Wabote.

One of the major advantages of the state-of-the-art Heat Treatment Facility, it said, is its potential to significantly enhance the efficiency and capacity of Nigeria’s fabrication industry in manufacturing pressure vessels, boilers, and ships.

Previously, Nigeria heavily relied on foreign nations for heat treatment processes due to the lack of local capacity for large-scale projects. An example of this occurred during the Egina FPSO Project in 2016 when one of the largest pressure vessels had to be treated in South Korea.

MG VOWGAS said relying on foreign nations not only places a burden on the economy but also restricts growth opportunities for local businesses.

It added that with its impressive Heat Treatment Facility boasting of a capacity of 200 tonnes, the limitations would soon become a thing of the past.

The group added state-of-the-art dish head forming equipment to its already impressive line-up of facilities, adding that the innovative machinery can form various sizes and shapes of heads, including hemispherical, 2:1 ellipsoidal, cones, and domes.

It noted that the innovation was a clear demonstration of the company’s commitment to excellence and innovation.

“Another significant milestone for MG VOWGAS Ltd is the celebration of 2 million man-hours without LTI. This outstanding safety record showcases the company’s dedication to the well-being of its employees.

“ It is a testament to their efforts in creating a safe and conducive working environment where workers can perform their duties without fear of injury. This achievement reflects the effectiveness of their safety practices and the unwavering commitment of their workforce.

“In these times of economic challenges faced by the nation, the establishment of such advanced facilities plays a crucial role in Nigeria’s self-reliance and economic resilience. Under the leadership and vision of Mr. Godwin Izomor, MG VOWGAS Limited has positioned itself as an industry leader, setting an example for others to follow,” the company said.

Since its establishment in 2006, MG VOWGAS Limited has solidified its position as a leading provider of Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation, and Commissioning (EPCIC) services in Nigeria.

With a proven track record spanning over two decades, MG VOWGAS Limited, said it has successfully completed a wide range of projects, including facility revamping, molecular sieve beads change-out, Turn Around Maintenance (TAM), and various engineering endeavours.

Delivering his address at the inauguration, the Group Managing Director of MG Vowgas, Godwin Izomor, said the event marked both a significant milestone in the company’s journey towards technological advancement and the celebration of reaching 2 million man-hours without any lost time incident.

He said: “MG VOWGAS Heat Treatment Furnace and Dish Heads Forming Machine represents a major stride in our commitment to excellence, innovation, and the pursuit of cutting-edge technology.”

Izomor also explained that the equipment is the largest capacity stress relieving furnace in the country, with its cutting-edge technology and advanced features which  represent a significant upgrade set to revolutionise its operations in heat treatment processes and the forming of dish heads.

He explained that the facility will enabling the company to meet the growing demands of its valued customers with even greater precision and efficiency.

He said the presence of Wabote at the event emphasised the significance of the event as the company strives to align their operations with the NCDMB.

He stressed that the committed efforts of the Nigerian to nurture and support indigenous content development in the oil and gas industry have been instrumental in promoting technological advancements and fostering the growth of local expertise.

He, however, expressed gratitude to Wabote and industry partners for their unwavering support and encouragement in achieving the success of the project.

In his remarks, Wabote said the achievements by MG VOWGAS had enhanced capacity in the oil and gas industry. He commended the company for promoting local content with employment of indigenous staff.

Wabote, who disclosed that the nation was targeting 70 per cent local content by the year 2027, regretted that some Nigerians are yet to embrace to local production which he said will balance the economy if all hands is on desk.

He expressed delight that Izomor had put up so much to encourage local production in the oil and gas industry.

“This is one of the people who believe in this country, people who have been in oil and gas industry and have seen the opportunity and have taken advantage of it.

“I was here about four years ago, the expansion that has been achieved within that period is just amazing. And like the MD said, I have been to Saipem facility, I have been to other fabrications but you equate this very much to fabrication yard.

“It’s not on the scale of Saipem but a lot have been achieved here where we can do a lot in this country and turn things around.

“For me, what is important is how do we create jobs for our teeming youths and how do we shore up our foreign exchange. As an engineer, what I know is that the only way we can get that done is by producing things in-country and by reducing our appetite for foreign goods as a nation. And you can only do that through the investment that the likes of MG VOWGAS have done here today.

“Today, people sit down to talk about gas as if it is a new thing to us in the industry. Gas has always been with us since we discovered oil. It is just that we didn’t focus on gas. But for every barrel of oil you produce there is an associated gas. How do we take that gas and monetise it for the benefit of the whole Nigerians?

“Now the discussion is that the capacity does not exist in this country, because of emergency. There is no emergency in the oil and gas business, you must follow the process which  has been laid down in the past from discovery to first oil. Most of the African countries are yawning for the opportunity that we have,” he said.

Wabote continued: “Today is the commissioning in MG VOWGAS, I have done a lot of commissioning this year alone and these are indigenous companies here in Port Harcourt and Lagos that are producing oil services. MG VOWGAS  is now one of them that have added an enhanced capacity in what they have. They have been in existence.

“We aim to attain 70 per cent local content by the year 2027. There are people who do not understand our business, who think there are cheaper, easier ways to do such things. But you must balance the social pressure with regards for your options of going cheap.

“This is some facilities that will enhance the oil and project. Therefore in the past most of what is being done here used to be exported outside this country and we lost millions of dollars.

“But today, it is being done here by the likes of MG VOWGAS. If you estimate the cost of what we export in the oil and gas industry in the past when we used to have lots of activities awkward of N21 billion was spent outside the country.”

THISDAY observed that renowned clients such as Chevron Nigeria Limited, Nigerian AGIP Oil Company (NAOC), Saipem Contracting Nigeria Limited, SPDC, Schneider Electric, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), as well as Nigeria Gas Infrastructure Company (NGIC) were present at the inauguration.