By Omoh Gabriel, Business Editor

Fenog Nigeria Limited a Nigerian indigenous company has installed Jackets Barge that has the capacity to monitor crude flow through pipelines.

This development brightens the hopes that the menace of pipeline vandalism and illegal oil bunkering would soon be over and also affords the government the opportunity to implement its local content policy in the country’s oil and gas industry.

Fenog Nigeria Limited is said to have blazed the trail in the use of the innovation when it imported two PD 250 HDD rigs which it deployed in fixing a major component of the new Escravos/Warri Gas Pipeline Project_ Escravos River Crossing_ initiated by the NNPC/Chevron Joint Venture. The HDD equipment successfully laid the pipes across the 1.7 kilometre Escravos River in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State, in August.

This feat is being celebrated in the oil and gas industry in view of the apparent lack of trust in indigenous firms stemming from the reluctance by Corporation to award the contract to indigenous company.

The fear of the joint venture operators is that the project would be too sophisticated for an indigenous oil servicing company to handle.

However, a new record was set in the industry when the Escravos River Crossing project was delivered by FENOG within three months despite the challenges posed by the communities and Chevron.

The PD 250 HDD technology successfully placed 24 inches_pipes 42 metres under the water bed across the 1.7km Escravos River, from the entry point to the terminal point in Madagho, a stride that was considered impossible by an indigenous contractor.

Encouraged by the feat the oil firm has imported a bigger HDD technology, PD 500 and an Offshore Pipeline and Installation of Jackets Barge to further salvage the oil industry, especially by curtailing the unwholesome acts of pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft.

The impact of the PD 500 lies in its ability to lay up 60_inches pipes and above 85 metres beneath the water surface, spanning 4.5 kilometres length.

It was learnt that the PD 500 by Fenog was the third by the German manufacturers and oil industry sources said the machine is the latest for now worldwide.

Albert Sylvester, a petroleum engineer said the latest technology would be of immensurable advantage in the oil and gas industry.

In order to further enhance efficiency and reduce sabotage in the industry, Fenog has also imported the barge to participate effectively in deepwater and shallow water operations. The barge was designed to lay pipes securely and provide offshore installations and logistics. The arrival of the barge into the country was seen as a milestone accomplishment by an indigenous firm because offshore operations had been exclusive monopoly by expatriate operators in the industry.

One of the operators in the industry, Blaize Coker, Chief Executive Officer of Straight Slide Oil, corroborated Sylvester  when he expressed the optimism of final end to illegal bunkering and vandalisation of oil facilities saying “The PD 500 is the biggest in HDD technology in the whole of Africa. It is the first to be used in the whole of Africa and the third in the world. Even at that, the one acquired by Fenog is the latest model and an improvement over the previous two.

“The procurement of the offshore barge is a major feat by any indigenous oil servicing company and engineering firm. It shows that Fenog is expanding from HDD technology to offshore operations. This feat is significant because the offshore operation had been monopolised by expatriates over the years.

“The PD 500 is an improvement over the PD 250 HDD technology because while the PD 250 can only lay 24”and above pipes 42 metres under the water bed across the 1.7 km river, the PD 500 is fitted with facilities to lay 60″ and above pipes depend on the design 85 metres under the water across 4.5 km length.”

“The cumulative effect of the use of PD 500 and the offshore barge is that it will lead to efficiency and safety in the industry. More importantly, it will reduce sabotage and cost of doing business in the industry.

“It is therefore imperative for the NNPC and its joint venture partners, especially Shell Petroleum Development Company, Chevron Nigeria Limited, Nigerian Agip Oil Company, Total and other oil majors to try the latest HDD technology and the offshore barge if they want to win the war against pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft in the oil and gas industry. The government will also be executing its local content policy by encouraging the use of the HDD technology and the barge in the oil industry.

Giving the rationale for the move, Fenog’s HDD Manager and Overseas’ Representative, Mr. Tony Olorho, said the management of the oil servicing company decided to import the PD 500 HDD rig and the offshore barge in order to join forces with the authorities to put an end to illegal oil bunkering and pipeline vandalism.

Olorho said the step was also meant to guarantee smooth operation and safety in the industry, adding that it was embarrassing that 50 years after independence, expatriates were still playing major roles in the nation’s oil industry.

He said the feat achieved by Fenog was made possible because its Chairman, Engineer Augustine Oghenejobo, was the first HDD root designer in Africa .Olorho added, “The Chairman of FENOG, Engineer Augustine Oghenejobo, is the first HDD root designer in the whole of Africa and he brought his vast training and experience to bear in raising the profile of the company as the leading indigenous company in the oil and gas firm in the country. Significantly, he has designed many engineering works which are yet to be rivalled in the industry.

“Engineer Oghenejobo is the brain behind the success recorded by the PD 250 HDD rig in the Escravos River Crossing and other significant milestones of the company in the oil and gas industry and he is determined to position the company to participate and partake actively in the industry in line with the local content policy of the government.

“Fenog is ready to take over from the expatriate oil servicing companies and we want the Federal Government to know that there are capable indigenous contractors that can handle and manage the oil efficiently and effectively.

“It is upsetting that many years after the discovery of oil in Nigeria , no indigenous company is a key player in the industry and that is why Fenog has taken steps to bridge the gap. We want to take the advantage of the local content policy of the Federal Government and we hope that the authorities and oil majors will patronize us accordingly,” Olorho added.

The managements of NNPC and the oil majors are expected to give the DP 500 HDD technology a trial in the ongoing war against pipeline vandalism and illegal oil bunkering in order to correct the insinuations in certain quarters that the authorities were only paying lip service to the efforts geared towards eliminating sharp practices and encouragement of the local content in the nation’s oil industry.

With the success recorded by PD 250 HDD rig, the combined forces of PD 500 HD rig and the offshore barge are expected to restore sanity and guarantee optimal operations in the oil industry.