Senator commends Total’s $16bn investment in Nigeria

Mr Solomon Adeola, the Chairman Senate Ad hoc Committee on Local Content, has commended the management of Total Upstream Nigeria Limited (TUPNI) on its 16 billion dollars (N5.76 trillion) Egina project in Nigeria.

The committee inspected the 3.3 billion dollar Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO) vessel.

The storage facility is for 200,000 barrels per day Egina deep-water oilfield, which is expected from South Korea on Jan. 23.

Adeola said the essence of the visit was to see and have first-hand information on the Egina FPSO and to also commend Total for making the huge investment a reality.

According to him, the 330-metre long Egina FPSO, the largest FPSO ever installed in Nigeria, by private investors and the Nigerian government was commendable.

“If Nigeria can attract such huge project estimated at 16.3 billion dollars, it shows we are moving in the right direction and growing our economy,” he said.

Adeola said this was the first project executed after the passage of the Nigerian Local Content Act, an indication that local content development has come to stay in Nigeria.

He promised that the committee would ensure full implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (NOGIC) passed by the national assembly.

Mr Nicolas Terraz, the Managing Director of TUPNI, appreciated the committee’s support and encouragements toward ensuring that the projected was completed on scheduled.

He said work had commenced on the FPSO and would undergo the integration of six locally fabricated modules within the next six months.

According to him, the integration of the six locally fabricated topside modules before its final sail-away to the Egina field is a remarkable achievement in local content development in Nigeria.

The Total upstream boss said several technological feats had been recorded by the various entities involved in the project.

“Egina is the deepest offshore development carried out so far in Nigeria, with water depths over 1,500 meters,’’ he said.

Terraz explained that the EGINA FPSO was designed to operate for 25 years and produce about 200,000 barrels of oil per day.

He said the Egina operations would generate significant activities for local contractors in various sectors and would continue to provide avenues for the training and development of Nigerians in various domains.

NAN reports that Egina is the largest investment project currently ongoing in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.