Energy Mix Report has published the article, "Kaztec makes progress on Addax's Antan platform, NNPC promises support for local content." Antan field is owned and operated by Sinopec Addax Petroleum Limited, and the work on the platform is being done at Kaztec Engineering's Snake Island fabrication yard in Lagos.
See photos here.
The Nation also reported on the story under the headline, "Kaztec advances work on Addax’s Antan platform, jacket."
Work carried out by Kaztec Engineering Limited, a subsidiary of Chrome Group, has reached an advanced stage on the construction of the platform and jacket for oil production from Antan field, owned and operated by Sinopec Addax Petroleum Limited, at its Snake Island fabrication yard in Lagos, The Nation reports.
Antan oil field is in water depth of about 40 metres and located in oil mining lease (OML) 123 holding approximated recoverable reserves of 15 million barrels and expected to produce 12,000 barrels per day (bpd) at peak. Steel work in Antan is estimated at between 1400 and 1500 tons.
The Group Executive Director, Engineering and Technology, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Adebayo Ibirogba, who was on working visit to the fabrication yard at the weekend said he was impressed by the level and standard of work he saw and promised that the corporation will continue to support local fabrication yards by giving them projects to do.
Ibirogba said: “For local fabrication yards to continue to be engaged, we need to increase their activities in the upstream sector. We can all see that all hands are on deck to get the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) out. When we get the PIB out, it will create a level playing field for all players and that is what the indigenous fabrication yards need”.
On construction of floating production, storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs), he said that “the local content laws give them (local fabrication yards) competitive advantage, so we encourage everyone who wants to invest in them locally because we will definitely patronise the local fabricators well before we go abroad”.
The Managing Director of Kaztec Engineering Limited Mr. John Niezner while conducting the NNPC delegation round the fabrication yard, said the company operates wholly in line with the Nigerian Content Act by engaging Nigerians in all its welding and fabrication operations. He said most of the engineering designs and materials are locally sourced, adding that the company’s operations contribute enormously to the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
We particularly found the comments of Mr. Ibirogba insightful related to the marginal and brown field operators and how to boost their continued existence in business through technology. This is what was reported in The Nation:
“Technology is a worldwide phenomenon; we don’t have monopoly of technology in Nigeria," said Mr. Ibirogba. We lean on the entire world industry but there are several advances going on at the same time in our efforts to improve production, and bring down the cost of production. For the marginal field operators, the reason why they are buying these assets is because they are lean in size, and their operating expenditure (opex) is low. Therefore, what they need do is work and see those assets are cheaper than the international oil companies (IOCs). There is no doubt that many of them are currently facing hard times but whatever hard times they are facing now is temporary. It is normal, all businesses are technical, it goes down and comes up again. Our advice to everyone is to hang in there, hold on to what you have because it will get better.”
