The Vice Chairman, NAOC, Mr. Massimo Insulla, was quoted to have disclosed this in a statement from the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board.

The NAOC was said to have recently collaborated with the NCDMB to organise a workshop on the Nigerian Content opportunities available on the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading platform to be deployed on the project.

The company is developing the Zabazaba and Etan deepwater integrated project in partnership with Shell Nigeria Exploration Company on Oil Prospecting Licence 245, according to the statement.

The NCDMB said the Nigerian Content opportunities in the FPSO package were in Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Integration, adding that the workshop was organised to discuss the project scope and opportunities, harness available capacities and develop new capacities to meet the project requirements.

It said the workshop also provided a platform for international and local contractors to discuss possible collaborations ahead of the preparation of EPC tenders.

According to the statement, the NCDMB, the NAOC and key stakeholders in the oil and gas industry have committed to achieving high Nigerian Content levels in the Zabazaba development project.

Insulla said the company was embarking on the project “when everybody is scared of investing in the oil and gas business around the world due to low oil prices as well as factors related to global economic downturn.” He also solicited the cooperation of all stakeholders towards the success of the project.

He said separate workshops would be organised for other packages of the project including the supply of line pipes for gas export, EPC for umbilicals, EPCI for pipelines, flowlines, risers and installation, EPC for SPS and wellheads and EPC for catenary anchor leg mooring buoy offloading.

Speaking at the workshop, the Acting Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Mr. Patrick Obah, expressed the board’s determination to ensure that the FPSO package gets delivered in accordance with the provisions and targets set in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act 2010.

He noted that the learnt lessons from the evaluation and compliance monitoring carried out on Total’s Egina deep water project would be brought to bear on the Zabazaba and Etan deepwater project.

He confirmed that the industry recorded significant Capacity Development Initiatives on the back of Egina project, the most prominent being the FPSO Integration yard being constructed at LADOL in readiness for the Egina FPSO integration in 2017.

“This legacy investment is a clear demonstration that major EPC projects can be leveraged to expand capacities and develop new capabilities for the benefit of the industry,” Obah added.