Nigerian unit of French oil giant, Total E&P Nigeria Limited, Total, has directed Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), a contractor on the NNPC/Total Joint Venture’s Ofon-2 Project, to ensure full compliance with all applicable provisions of the Nigerian Content Act.

The directive follows an intervention by the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, the company said in a statement.

Noting that “the relevant Ofon contracts were signed in 2007 before the Nigerian Content Act came into effect in 2010,” Total said it will “support the Nigerian Government aspirations in respect of Nigerian capacity development and increase of local content in the oil and gas sector.”

Accordingly, “Total has therefore directed HHI to significantly review the manning ratios to ensure the provisions of the Act are complied with. Following Total’s directive, HHI has increased Nigerian manning participation from 29% to 65%.

“50 expatriate workers from HHI have been replaced by Nigerians and 50 additional positions have been created on the site to train Nigerian staff during the pre-start-up phase of the project,” the statement said.

Total also said it is committed “to working with NCDMB and Total’s contractors to increase local capacity and to train workers for the up-coming projects in Nigeria.

“With a high ratio of Nigerian content over our major development projects over the last few years on Akpo and Usan and on the recently launched Egina project, Total and its partners are proud to be the leader in Nigerian Content development.

“We take the opportunity of the currently ongoing Nigerian Content Month to confirm our partnership with the Board to achieve the goals of the Government and people of Nigeria in this very important area of national development,” the statement concluded.