….Project Creates 300 Jobs
By Margaret Nongo-Okojokwu
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has commended Total Exploration and Production Nigeria (TEPNG) and Pipe Coaters Nigeria (PCN) Limited for the local content strides being recorded on the Total Ikike Line Pipe Coating Project, which is ongoing at PCN facility in Onne Free Trade Zone, River State.
The Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote gave the commendation on recently when he inspected the ongoing project. He hailed Total E&P for embarking on the Ikike project during the period of COVID-19 pandemic, describing it as evidence that the company believes in Nigerian Content development and the nation’s economy.
He hinted that the Ikike Subsea, Risers & Flowlines (SURF) Engineering Procurement Construction and Installation (EPCI) project will create huge opportunities for local companies like Pipe Coaters Nigeria and numerous Nigerian youths especially during the period of the COVID-19 when most businesses and projects are shut down. According to technical details of the project, the planned duration is five months, and it involves 12 inches X 28km Line pipes that would be coated with 3LPE, 5LPP and Concrete Weight Coating (CWC). Additional services will include Bends coating and Anodes installation and they are scheduled to be completed by November 2020.
This would be the first time in Africa that a facility would be applying CWC on top of a Thermal Insulation (5LPE) coated line pipe.
The Executive Secretary who was represented at the event by the General Manager Projects Certification and Authorization Division (PCAD), NCDMB, Engr. Paul Zuhumben lauded PCN for developing the capacity to execute the job and showing that local companies now have the capabilities to match their foreign counterparts in the delivery of oil and gas projects to the highest quality and standards.
He noted that PCN had acquired experience that had spanned over two decades in Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG) pipe management, pipe threading and line pipe coating for deep water applications. The Executive Secretary also thanked President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva for their commitment towards ensuring that the Ikike project continued despite the lull in the global business climate.
In his comments, the Operations Senior Manager of Tenaris/PCN, Mr. Ugochukwu Chijioke stated that the Ikike coating project would be executed by 100 percent Nigerians workforce and it offered the opportunity for the employment of over 300 direct personnel, training and the use of locally sourced materials, amongst others.
He thanked the Executive Secretary and management of Total for making the project a reality and appealed to relevant stakeholders for more projects so that the skills and capabilities that were developed during the project can be retained.
He conveyed the company’s pride to be associated with the project for the Total/NNPC Joint Venture and the remarkable accomplishments that would be attained and assured that it would be completed in record time to meet the Ikike development project timelines.
