By Dipo Olowookere
The new British Deputy High Commissioner for Lagos, Ms Laure Beaufils, visited Snake Island Integrated Free Zone (SIIFZ) to see first-hand the significant potential to further strengthen the bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and Nigeria, by enabling UK businesses to partner with Jagal Energy and Nigerdock and to promote exports to, and investment in, Nigeria.
Ms Beaufils made this known during her visit to the company’s extensive facility, located at Snake Island Integrated Free Zone in Lagos, as part of her familiarization of the oil and gas industry in her new role to explore opportunities for UK firms to do business in Nigeria. To date, Jagal has invested over $550m at the Free Zone and continues to expand to drive greater local content capability, working with the UK and many others.
Speaking during the visit, the British Deputy High Commissioner lauded the significant contributions of Jagal Energy and Nigerdock to the growth of Nigeria’s energy sector by stating:
“The scale of investment within Nigerdock here is much more than I had anticipated. The facility is very large and there is so much strategic investment in terms of materials and facilities which provides massive opportunities for companies working in oil and gas supply chain to partner with Nigerdock and Jagal Energy.
“There is a lot more I know that can be done here and I have been incredibly impressed by what is available here.
“We all know that oil and gas industry contributes hugely to Nigeria’s export revenue, so it is fundamental that this industry continues to be effective and efficient. Stakeholders like Jagal Energy are key players in the field. And they are at the heart of growth, job and economic development in Nigeria,” she noted.
The British Deputy High Commission will explore opportunities for UK businesses to partner with Nigerdock as this can further strengthen the socio-economic and political ties between the two countries.
She was received and conducted on a tour by a team of top executives of Jagal and Nigerdock.
While presenting an overview of Jagal Energy to the delegation, the Group MD Chris Bennett explained that Jagal has been at the forefront in providing world class services in Nigeria’s energy sector for many years, driven by its core values of leadership, excellence, accountability and dynamism.
Nigerdock is a wholly owned Nigerian company with diverse capabilities that support highly complex oil and gas projects, during all stages of an asset lifecycle.
The company’s facility is an integrated hub that offers services to broad range of leading global IOC’s and National clients across the energy sector.
The Group MD also stated that at the very core of these major oil and gas deliveries is Nigerdock’s committed passion for developing a highly skilled indigenous workforce in-country in line with local content development standards.
Nigerdock is also the largest shipyard facility in West Africa and continues to strive to achieve its vision to maximize its stakeholder returns, thus fostering National economic development, enhance the capabilities and most importantly the competencies of its people, and build a sustainable and efficient skills base. In terms of capacity building in Nigeria, Nigerdock provides the highest quality needs-based training and development.
This track record is delivered through the Nigerdock Training and Development Academy, a fully-equipped facility which has trained over 6,000 personnel in a range of skills including project management, quality, occupational health and safety, welding, fitting, painting and coating, machining, lifting and rigging as well as scaffolding etc.
Even before the enactment of the NOGICD Act, Nigerdock was at the forefront of Nigerian content development and has come to be known across the industry as the Champion of Nigerian Content. We have attained this recognition not only by consistent investment in our people, infrastructure, equipment and facilities, but also by our dedication to lead the market in building National capacity in Nigeria,” Chris Bennett explained.
The British Deputy High Commission delegation was given an extensive tour of the facility including viewing where Nigerdock are currently preparing to load out, on schedule, to budget the second phase of some 6,500 tonnes of fabricated FPSO structures; the single largest fabrication location in-country for the Egina project. The Egina project involvement, a flagship project for Total, attests to Nigerdock’s massive contributions to local content development in Nigeria.
Nigerdock also added that several global blue-chip businesses and smaller service providers have become investment Partners with Jagal and Nigerdock, due to Jagal Energy’s track record of successful Partnering relationships and bespoke Partnership methods and agreements.
The delegation commended Nigerdock for its commitment to Nigeria and the energy services sector. Over the years, Nigerdock has continuously demonstrated its project execution expertise by taking on and delivering complex projects of an ever-increasing scope and complexity; these projects include the Ofon Phase II Project for Total, the Satellite Field Development project and Erha North Projects for ExxonMobil, and the DSO (Meren and Sonam) project for Chevron among others.
Modupe Gbadeyanka