As the integration of the six locally fabricated topside modules of Total’s Egina Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO) begins, the House of Representatives has told other International Oil Companies (IOCs) to take a cue from the investment decision of Total Upstream Nigeria Limited (TUPNI).
Chairman, House Committee on Local Content, Mr. Emmanuel Ekon, gave the advise when he and other members of the committee paid a working visit to Ladol Yard to witness the progress of work on the integration of the $3.3 billion Egina FPSO.
Ekon said the investment decision of Total will further boost oil production in the country with the addition of 200,000 barrels of oil per day while it will also be a boost to the revenue earnings of the country through the Joint Venture (JV) agreement spearheaded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
He said the Egina project is the pride of local content because it has demonstrated that local content is working in all its ramifications.
“I call on all other IOCs operating in Nigeria to emulate what Total has done because it has kept faith with the local content regime. Today, for the first time in the history of Africa, FPSO is being carried out in Nigeria. And for me, I think that is a quantum leap for the local content regime.”
He noted that the Egina FPSO being the first project to be carried out after the Local Content Act became a law indicated that mistakes would have been made, adding that going forward, the Egina project will be a learning curve for the regulatory agencies and for all other similar projects to come afterwards.
‘‘Our visit to the Egina project site in Ladol Yard is not for investigative purpose but rather to drum support for Total and assure them that the National Assembly is solidly behind them to ensure that the project is completed as scheduled without hitches.’’
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman, House Committee on Gas, Mr. Fredrick Agbedi, said the National Assembly is more than ever committed to sign the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law, especially as it concerns host communities.
He said as a member of the PIB committee, the National Assembly has decided to take on the Fiscal and Host Community Bill together because if the host communities are not taken along in oil and gas operations, there can never be a peaceful business environment.
Agbedi added that the Egina FPSO has further helped to prove that Nigeria is a global leader in oil and gas production and exploration that other countries within the African region can learn one or two things from.
Also speaking, the Managing Director of TUPNI, Mr. Nicholas Terraz, said the domestication of FPSO integration activities in Nigeria is not only a milestone in terms of local content but also a game changer for the execution of deepwater oil and gas projects in Nigeria.
‘‘A few years ago, many people did not believe it would be possible to achieve this. TUPNI is proud of this achievement and today, we want to thank you for sharing this pride with you and also to express our tanks for the support we received from all our partners throughout this project,’’ he said.
Terraz disclosed that a large number of elements were fabricated in Nigeria and exported to South Korea for integration. These, he said, included the living quarters, the helideck, the flare tower and pressure vessels.