Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) and Nivafer Engineering and Construction Limited have unveiled a critical gas facility for the supply of treated fuel gas to the Assa North Power Generation Turbines.
Assa North-Ohaji South (ANOH) is a conventional gas development located in Imo State and lies in blocks OML 53 and OML 21. It is operated by SPDC. The field is owned by TotalEnergies, Eni, Shell, Seplat Energy, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Ltd.
The project is currently in the construction stage and is expected to start commercial production in 2022. The final investment decision (FID) of the project was approved in 2019. The development cost is expected to be $650 m. The Assa North-Ohaji South (ANOH) conventional gas development will involve the drilling of approximately six wells.
Simbi Wabote, executive secretary of the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB) who cut the ribbons on the project, said he was pleased to celebrate the achievement which has added value in-country and created job opportunities for Nigerians no matter the size or scale of such projects.
He said the Assa North Gas Development project is a very important project within the context of the ‘Decade of Gas’ programme of the Federal Government which seeks to unlock gas for domestic use in powering the economy.
“It is such belief and support for local capacities and capabilities that made us gather here today, rather than outside the shores of Nigeria, to celebrate this key milestone achieved by Nivafer Engineering and Construction Limited.
Wabote said the scope of work given to the NIVAFER includes the Fabrication, Assembly, Testing, Pre-commissioning, and Commissioning of the High-Pressure Gas Skid.
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“From the beginning of this project, NCDMB and SPDC worked together to target very high local content commitments and targets which have all come to fruition today.
“Thus, in line with the commitment of SPDC in the signed Nigerian Content Compliance Certificate, hook-up engineering and tie-in services, inspections and integrity works, pre-commissioning and commissioning activities shall be executed with over 95 percent Nigerian personnel with locally owned equipment and assets
The project which started during the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that Nigerian companies have the capacities to deliver if given the opportunity, he said.
“Let me take this opportunity to commend, NIVAFER on delivering this scope on schedule. You have proven once again that you can deliver when given the opportunity, which gives us the additional boost to ensure that in-country capacities are utilised,” Wabote said.
Chris Ijeli, managing director/CEO of NIVAFER Engineering & Construction Ltd said the successful execution of the contract for Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation of the ASSA NORTH GAS PROJECT as awarded to NIVAFER by Shell Petroleum Development Company in April 2019, is yet another remarkable achievement.
It clearly means that the Nigerian Local Content Act is a success because Nigerian companies, technicians and engineers have acquired expertise, and built capacity that has increased indigenous participation in the Nigerian Oil and Gas sector. With the Local Content Act,” he said.
NIVAFER was incorporated in 1977 and operates a construction yard within Coker Estate, Shasha, Akowonjo. The yard size is approximately 62,000sqm and consists of 17,000 square meters of covered fabrication workshops, an open construction area, climate-controlled blasting rooms with 2 fully functional grit recycling machines, and a stacking area of 22,000sqm.
Production from the Assa North-Ohaji South (ANOH) conventional gas development project is forecast to peak in 2024, at approximately 19,960 bpd of crude oil and condensate and 600 Mmcfd of natural gas.
