Nigeria’s third-largest oil producer Chevron is in search for a subsea vessel for long-term deal to support operations at its Floating Production, Storage and Offloading unit (FPSO) on $3.5 billion Agbami oil field project, one of the largest deepwater discoveries in the country.
According to a new tender from Nigeria’s Bureau of Public Procurement, the subsea vessel is required for subsea construction, subsea IRM (Inspection, Repair & Maintenance), and provision of general support to Agbami FPSO operations as well as supporting other operations such as the Seabed Survey for the Agbami Field.
Chevron has a 67.3 percent Agbami Field, which lies 70 miles (113 km) off the coast of the central Niger Delta region and spans 45,000 acres (182 sq km). The oil field which is primarily with associated gas hold potentially recoverable volumes of 900 MMbbl of oil.
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For prospective bidders, the subsea vessel is expected to provide minimum DP2 capability and compliant with all Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) requirements for operations within Nigeria waters which must also include installation of Subsea equipment with heave-compensated crane with minimum crane capacity of 100 metric tons at 2,000m of water depth.
Other expectations from the subsea vessel include, deck space capable of landing Anghami Subsea trees weighing over 60 tons, capacity to remain on station for at least one month between resupply cycles, capacity to work on equipment and operate 2 work class ROVS, 150hp each, in 2,000m of water depth, distribution of diesel fuel to the FPSO and other vessels in bunkering operations, distribution of freshwater to the FPSO and other vessels.
Others include, helicopter landing pad sufficient for a Sikorsky S92 helicopter, safety and life-saving equipment meeting all current SOLAS requirements, provision of engineering support services for conduct of subsea installations, provision of subsea integrity management inspection and services.
The proposed contract is scheduled to commence September 1 with a proposed term of four years with a one year option to extend.
To be eligible, Interested bidders are required to be pre-qualified and be in the product and service database of Nigerian Petroleum Exchange (Nipex), an electronic one-stop transaction centre, which improves on value procurement in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
In 2019, net daily production from the Agbami and Usan fields (another Chevron oil field) averaged 104,000 barrels of crude oil and 18 million cubic feet of natural gas.
With potential reserves of about 1 billion barrels of oil, the Agbami Field is one of the largest producing deepwater assets in Nigeria.
