Erha North to boost national oil reserve by 900 million barrels

•Aveon Offshore ‘sails away’ subsea structures 

Nigeria’s aspiration to get additional 900 million barrels oil reserve from the Erha oil field is inching closer to reality as Aveon Offshore limited has commenced sail away of the subsea structures for the Erha North II oil field, offshore Port Harcourt.

The indigenous oil service firm, in a statement on Tuesday, said it has successfully completed fabrication, supported manifold/suction pile testing and loaded out the components in respect of the Erha North Phase II project, operated by the a subsidiary of ExxonMobil – Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited (EEPNL).

According to the company, the load out and sail away of the five suction piles, production and water-injection manifolds and riser base lift module with choke loop bridge occurred in four batches between October 2014 and March 2015 with the final batch of five mudmats with foundation base and two production manifolds with pigging loop sailing away on the 5th of April, 2015.

Describing the development as a testimony to the success of the local content act, Aveon said other works such as the fabrication of the Xtree elements are currently ongoing and expected to be delivered on schedule.

The immediate past Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison Madueke, recently said that the Erha North project would start operation in 2016, with capacities to buoy national oil reserve by 900 million barrels. Project Director, OneSubsea offshore systems Nigeria Limited, Oddvar Bryne, has however commended the company for the feat: “A day to remember, the total Manifold scope complete and last ENP2 manifold loaded onto the barge.

An overall manifold scope delivered successfully and I do believe one of the most successful projects delivered from Aveon ever. I will never forget this team ever and you will be remembered in the OneSubsea/Cameron System for sure for an outstanding performance.

Well done.” AVEON Offshore however said the project was executed at its 280,000 Sqm fabrication yard in Rumuolumeni near Port Harcourt and generated over 550,000 productive man-hours of over 20 months.

AVEON, a fully Nigerian owned engineering and fabrication services company was awarded the contract by OneSubea Offshore Systems Nigeria Limited for the fabrication and load-out of approximately 1,200 tons of subsea structures including five manifolds and modules with associated suction piles, various Xmas tree frame elements and control system foundations for the EEPNL’s Erha North Phase II Project in 2013.

In order to accommodate the workload generated by the project, the company said a dedicated 2,000 m2 high-bay workshop was added to the yard’s existing infrastructure.

ExxonMobil said in its website that the project awards represented a significant milestone in the development of Erha North Phase II and demonstrate continued cooperation between Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and EEPNL to grow the business and support the Nigerian government in meeting national goals.

“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,” it stated.