The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited is engaging in the in-country fabrication of two single-point mooring buoys.
The SPM buoy fabrication was awarded to Prime Sources Limited, an indigenous company based in Warri, Delta State.
In a statement, SPDC disclosed that the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board commended it for the in-country fabrication of the SPM buoys.
SPMs are floating facilities used for loading liquids and gas offshore and were first fabricated locally for the Bonga floating production, storage, and offloading vessel of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd. in 2006 by Dorman Long Engineering Limited with headquarters in Lagos.
SPDC said it awarded the contract for the two buoys to the indigenous company, PSL, which is delivering the facilities in line with world-class quality standards as attested to by the International Registrar and Classification Society in Norway, Det Norske Veritas, and a team of resident engineers from IMODCO, PSL’s technical partner in France.
It was disclosed that the buoys will be installed offshore at Bonny and Forcados terminals this year.
“Awarding such a technically complex scope to a local contractor highlights SPDC’s commitment to local content development,” NCDMB Executive Secretary Felix Omatsola Ogbe said when he toured the project site at the Julius Berger Port in Warri recently.
“I want to especially commend SPDC for believing in the indigenous contractor.
I commend the contractor for delivering the project in good time without any injury and the community for their support,” Ogbe added.
The SPDC Director and General Manager, Safety and Environment, Conventional Oil and Gas, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mrs. Elozino Olaniyan, said, “The project reiterates Shell’s commitment to the economic development of Nigeria and improving the capacity of local vendors.”
SPDC’s Domestic Gas, Forcados Yokri Integrated Project and Terminals Project Manager, Chris Ubuane, said the company is pleased that PSL will deliver the first buoy within a year with a team of over 90 per cent of Nigerians performing various tasks including project management, piping, structural fabrications, scaffolding, welding, fitting, blasting, and painting.
“SPDC will continue to work with PSL to grow their capability in buoy fabrication and maintenance,” he maintained.
Managing Director, Prime Sources Limited, Francis Anyakwo, appreciated SPDC for the opportunity to “undertake this complex project” and the NCDMB for the support that has enabled the company to transform into a major subsea contractor in the oil and gas industry.
Secretary of the Ijaw Kingdom Traditional Council, Chief Anthony Jolomi, and representative of the Itsekiri Kingdom, Dr. Omiwere-Ete George Boyo, also expressed gratitude to SPDC for the project, pledging that the community would continue to provide an enabling environment for businesses to thrive in the area.
