Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
Pipe Coaters Nigeria Limited (PCNL) has celebrated the completion of the coating and cut back of the last pipes for the Egina Deepwater’s umbilical, flowlines and risers (UFR) project.
The event which was marked recently at the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone in Port Harcourt, Rivers State represented a major milestone in Total’s Egina project.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Wabote described the Egina Project as a testimony of local content achievements, noting that the feats achieved by Nigerian companies and their workforce on the back of the Egina project had become reference points.
He underscored the Board’s role in the project contracting process which led to the deliberate scoping and domiciliation of all pipe coating activities in Nigeria, noting that the industry had begun to witness the successes of the Board’s efforts to develop Nigerian Content in all ramifications. He assured that in-country coating facilities would be given first consideration in major upcoming projects like Bonga South West Aparo, Zabazaba Deepwater and Etan and other maintenance contracts and tenders.
The Executive Secretary who was represented by the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, NCDMB, Mr Daziba Patrick Obah noted that the facility had reaffirmed the fact that capacity and capability existed in-country for pipe coating without compromising quality. He charged other multinational and local service companies to continuously invest in Nigeria in line with provisions of the Nigerian Content Act, assuring them of the Board’s support.
In his remarks, the Country Manager, Pipe Coaters Nigeria (PNC), Mr Ricardo Capria described the Egina pipe coating project as the largest in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. According to him, “the final pipe for the largest pipe-coating project the oil and gas industry has seen to date– consisting of 6,000 tons of material – has been coated. The work was performed by the only plant in Africa capable of applying the sophisticated coating technology on large diameter pipe, Pipe Coaters Nigeria Limited (PCN).”
Also speaking, the Plant Manager, Mr Chijioke Ugochukwu, thanked stakeholders of the industry for their support and canvassed for new projects to help domicile capacity and retain spend in the local economy.
