As part of the efforts to deepen local content development in the country and conserve foreign exchange, a $10 million Threading and Valve assembly facility is being set up at the Lekki Free Trade Zone by Bell Oil and Gas.
The integrated facility would provide a range of piping and tubular services for the oil and gas industry. It would also have a Valve assembling plant, maintenance workshop, testing plant, a composite fabrication facility and also serve as a befitting fabrication yard in general.
The facility which groundbreaking was performed at the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos and witnessed by officials of Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) would play a very critical role by providing these services for the production of oil and gas.
Some of these services are currently imported into the country at huge cost to the economy.
According to the Simbi Wabote, executive secretary of the NCDMB who was represented by Tunde Adelana, director Content and Evaluation at NCDMB, said as Nigeria celebrates her 60th year of independence, he believes that project like this would terminate the country’s dependence on massive importation of Threaded pipes so that she can derive the attendance economic benefits.
He said the establishment of a facility that would make it possible to assemble Threaded OCTG pipes and Valves in-country is a welcome addition to the list of existing assembly plants in the country as it is set to meet the key energy needs in the oil and gas sector.
“Nigeria deserves more of such initiatives in the oil and gas sector,” he said.
Kayode Thomas, managing director and chief executive of Bell Oil and Gas while speaking at the occasion said the assembly facility when completed is expected to reduce the cost of purchasing Threaded pipes and Valves which are mostly imported into the country and create a reasonable level of employment opportunities for Nigerians.
He said: “The essence of the event was to break the ground and lay the first stones for what is essentially going to be a state of the art multimillion-dollar integrated facility, that will provide a range of piping and tubular services for the oil and gas industry. It would also have a Valve assembling, maintenance workshop, testing plant, a composite fabrication facility and also serve as a befitting fabrication yard in general
He explained that in full support of the company’s vision to be a reference point in the industry as well as demonstrate its commitment to real and true local capacity development, it is moving further into the value chain ladder from being a supplier and an installer into actually doing something more enduring and adding more value to the economy
He said Bell Oil and Gas has been very active in the valve business as it supplies valve to a number international oil companies and also represent a number of internationally recognised original equipment manufacturers across the globe.
Explaining further, how the plants would function, he said the valve plant would enable Bell Oil and Gas assemble valves locally, maintaining and testing it locally with the state-of-the-art equipment. While the composite pipe fabrication would make it possible for it to actually pre fabricate the pipes.
He said the facility would be unique and spectacular as it is going to be the first in Lagos area.
The idea to build the facility he said, was initiated about nine years ago but that there have been series of challenges that have threatened the realisation of the project. He said because the company has been focused on its vision and with the determinations it must succeed were things that have made the groundbreaking to reality.
