Ikike offshore oil platform which started shortly before Covid-19 pandemic struck has started producing oil to the admiration of TotalEnergies and partners.
TotalEnergies Nigeria Limited which had earlier announced this in Paris (France) has reconfirmed the breakthrough in Port Harcourt, Wednesday, July 27, 2022.
The managing director, Mike Sangster, who announced this at the groundbreaking ceremony for three human capital projects at the Government Technical College in Okujagu section of Port Harcourt, said; “TotalEnergies’ IKIKE project with investment decision in 2019 achieved first oil few days ago. It is very remarkable to highlight that this milestone was achieved without any Lost Time Injury (LTI) or incident.”
IKIKE platform is located off Port Harcourt into the Gulf of Guniea with Cameroon close to it by the right. TotelEnergies experts said the platform with a depth of about 20 meters is tied back to the existing Amenam offshore facilities through a 14 km multiphase pipeline.
“The Ikike project leverages existing facilities to keep costs low, and is designed to minimize greenhouse gas emissions: estimated at less than 4kg CO2e/boe, they will contribute to reducing the average carbon intensity of TotalEnergies’ upstream portfolio. In addition, 95percent of hours were worked locally: the jacket as well as the topside modules were entirely built and integrated by local contractors.
“TotalEnergies is pleased to start production at Ikike, which was launched a few months before the Covid-19 pandemic, and whose success owes a lot to the full mobilization of the teams.
“By tapping discoveries close to existing facilities, this project fits the Company’s strategy of focusing on low-cost and low-emission oil projects,” said Henri-Max Ndong-Nzue, Senior Vice President Africa, Exploration and Production at TotalEnergies.
Read also: TotalEnergies’ Ikike oilfield goes live, targets 50,000bpd
The MD, who spoke through his deputy in charge of JV Asset, Guillaume Dulout, said Ikike recorded significant local content milestones. “Overall, the construction of the jacket, modules, topsides, and risers in Nigerian yards, the offshore campaign with vessels domiciled in Nigeria, and drilling with Nigerian companies, boosted local employment with about 3000 direct and indirect jobs.”
In the course of the project, he went on, several subcontracts were awarded to local yards/companies while corporate social responsibility projects were undertaken for the benefit of the people of the Niger Delta.
He said: “Under the human capital development requirement for the Ikike project, 53 refreshers were trained, 11 of whom were employed by Ikike contractors, while 30 entry-level geoscience students are currently being trained at Laser Engineering, Port Harcourt.
“The Ikike project achieved 92percent Nigerian content and over 5,500,000 Nigerian content man-hours during the project life. Ikike recorded a total of 2,128 MT of in-country fabrication and 2,352 pipes coated in-country. Of particular worth for mention, is that drilling operations on Ikike field were performed by a Nigerian company.”
TotalEnergies seemed to use IKIKE to test the ability of the company to achieve agility in the face of global shutdown due to Covid-19.
It also seems to be a test for Nigeria Content drive by increasing tasks and duties for Nigerians in the project, with desirable results, they said.
It has also helped to achieve low cost and low emission, two factors that seem to underline the future of fossil fuel and the hydro-carbon industry as renewable energy fast threatens to take over.
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