A turnaround maintenance is being executed by Nigeria’s premier deep-water company, Shell Nigeria Exploration, and Production Company (SNEPCo) at Bonga field.
SNEPCo says the maintenance is a "detailed review of facilities and processes with a view to revitalizing them for continuous optimum use."
“The exercise will focus on the giant Floating, Production, Storage, Offloading (FPSO) vessel which handles production at the field,” the company explained in a statement.
It is important to note that the turnaround maintenance is the 7th since the field began production. SNEPCo says it will not only “help to further deepen deep-water technology in Nigeria as many indigenous companies and personnel will play key roles” but also “Nigerian suppliers and service providers will also be heavily involved as they were in previous maintenance activities.”
With the support of NNPC Ltd and the co-venture partners –TotalEnergies, Nigerian Agip Oil Company, and ExxonMobil, Shell has “delivered tangle benefits to the Nigerian State” and also launched Nigeria into the league of deep water producers through the safe and efficient production of oil and gas from Bonga and related fields.
Since Bonga came on stream in 2005, Nigeria’s oil production has increased by 10 percent and “has since produced more than 950 million barrels of oil.”
“The field has the capacity to produce more than 200,000 barrels of oil a day and 150 million standard cubic feet of gas a day. Oil production has gone side by side with contributions to the Nigerian purse.”
Some of the other contributions of Shell deepwater operations to Nigeria’s development include the “creation of a generation of deep-water professionals, suppliers and service providers, with SNEPCo awarding major engineering and construction contracts to indigenous companies.”
In the educational sector, laudable feats have been achieved.
“Its National University Scholarship, delivered in conjunction with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, has supported over 490 Nigerian students since the program was launched in 2016.
“Another postgraduate scholarship program introduced in 2017 enables graduates from any Nigerian state to obtain a master’s degree in oil and gas-related disciplines from leading universities in the United Kingdom.”
While visiting the Bonga field ahead of the turnaround maintenance, the Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Mr. Bala Wunti, described Bonga operations as “best-in-class.”
