Esso gets NNPC’s approval for award of Erha North project

BY MICHAEL EBOH

Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited (EEPNL), operator of Oil Mining Lease 133, has secured approval from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, to award three engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for Erha North Phase II project.

According to a statement by Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, signed by Mr. Paul Arinze, General Manager, Public & Government Affairs, the EPC awards represent a significant milestone in the development of Erha North Phase II and demonstrate continued cooperation between Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and EEPNL to grow the business and support the Nigerian government in meeting national goals.

He said the contracts are in line with Erha North Phase II project objectives, which include significant national content contributions, and will bring direct and indirect benefits to the Nigerian economy through project spending and employment.

Subsea 7 and Sea Truck had last week announced that it has been awarded contract from Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, for the development of the Erha North field.

Erha North field is located offshore Nigeria in water depths between 1,000 metres and 1,200 metres.

The contract was awarded to a consortium of West African Ventures Ltd and Subsea 7′s Nigerian subsidiary.

Senior Vice-President for Africa and Gulf of Mexico, Olivier Carre, said that contract was awarded to them because of the confidence in their capability
In his words, “We are delighted to be awarded this contract which demonstrates our partners’ confidence in our capabilities.’

“The award underlines our ability to leverage local skills and assets when developing technological solutions for deepwater subsea construction. This substantial contract award further expands our already strong presence in West Africa.” he said.

Erha North Project consists of 32 subsea wells tied back to a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel. A catenary anchor-leg-mooring (CALM) buoy is used for crude-carrier docking and product transfer.

Erha FPSO has a storage capacity of 2.2 million barrels of oil and accommodates up to 100 personnel. It is designed for the separation of oil, gas and water. The vessel hull, which was constructed in Korea, measures 285 meters in length, 63 meters in width and 33 meters in depth.

Subsea 7′s scope of work includes the engineering, procurement, fabrication and installation of 25 kilometres of flowlines, 15 kilometres of umbilicals, and 17 rigid jumpers. The scope also includes modifications to the FPSO in order to integrate it with the new subsea facilities.

The project will maximize the use of local personnel and resources in Nigeria, and particular significant parts of the design will be executed in Nigeria and all Subsea structures will be fabricated in Nigeria.

The Subsea specialist will also make modifications to the field’s floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel to integrate it with the new subsea facilities.

Engineering work will commence immediately with offshore installation scheduled to commence in early 2015, using the Seven Borealis and the Seven Pacific.

Subsea 7 is a seabed-to-surface engineering, construction and services contractor to the offshore energy industry worldwide.