By Ediri Ejoh

As part of its commitment to developing the Nigerian technical workforce, FMC Technologies Inc. has announced a partnership programme with the University of Port Harcourt, UniPort, to create the first Master of Science degree in Subsea Engineering in Nigeria. Speaking on the partnership, Country Manager, FMC Technologies, Mr. Michael Hunt, said, “This collaboration represents a major milestone in furthering the development of a highly skilled Nigerian workforce. These students will play a key role in the future of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

Uniport

“However, FMC Technologies is dedicated to developing its Nigerian workforce so that an ever-increasing number of technical, leadership and management roles in Nigeria can be performed by Nigerians.”

According to the company, the programme curriculum will be developed in collaboration with industry experts to ensure students are prepared for work in the offshore oil and gas industry. The University will be accepting enrollment applications for this new programme starting from 2015.

Also commenting on the development, the Vice-Chancellor, UniPort, Prof. Joseph Ajienka, expressed his gratitude and described the event as a major milestone, not only for the University of Port Harcourt, but also for the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

He said, “We are very pleased to cooperate with FMC Technologies in this effort. Given the facilities and experience of FMC Technologies, we are confident that a Master of Science degree in Subsea Engineering will add tremendous value to our services.”

Upon graduation, programme participants will have expanded opportunities to work in the energy industry, including potential employment with FMC Technologies in Nigeria. FMC Technologies has been contributing to the growth of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry for more than 16 years and currently employs approximately 250 Nigerians in a bid to upholding the country’s local content initiative.

More than 2000 jobs have been created, including its employees and supply chain. Nigerian employees have received more than 70,000 training hours since 2012, to expand their skills and increase the number of job functions that can be executed in Nigeria by locals. In addition, FMC Technologies is currently providing over 80 percent of subsea production systems in country.

Continuing, the company had recently received an order from Star Deep Water Petroleum Limited (a subsidiary of Chevron), operator of the Agbami field, to provide subsea equipment for operations in the field, offshore in the country. Speaking on the benefit of the contract, Senior Vice President, FMC Technologies, Mr. Tore Halvorsen, said it will provide additional production and help to extend the life of deepwater development.

“FMC Technologies has supported the Agbami field development for several years, so the new contract will help to provide additional production and help extend the life of this deepwater development.”

“The Agbami field is located 70 nautical miles (113 km) off the coast of the central Niger Delta region, at a water depth of approximately 4,800 feet (1,463 m).The parties in the Agbami field include Famfa Oil Limited; Star Deep Water Petroleum Limited;PetróleoBrasileiro Nigeria Limited,Petrobras; Statoil Nigeria Limited, Statoil; and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.”