Uche Usim, Abuja
The Managing Director Total E&P, Nicolas Terraz has assured that the Egina Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel will add 200, 000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) to Nigeria’s current production of two million bpd.
He also urged oil sector stakeholders to internalize the culture of efficiency and innovation as they remain key enablers that guarantee safer work, reduced operational costs, faster and better decisions, and generally increased productivity.
Speaking at the ongoing Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) in Abuja Tuesday, Terraz, who was represented at the event by the Deputy Managing Director (Deep Water) Ahmadu-Kida Musa Egina production represents about 10% of Nigeria’s current production, adding “with Egina, Total will be operating about 23 per cent of the national production and we are proud to be significant contributors in securing Nigeria’s oil and gas future.
According to the total boss, Egina set unprecedented records of local content and capacity building, noting that the project stands as a great testament to Total’s commitment to Nigeria and the company’s determination to support and advance local content development.
He said: “77 per cent of man-hours worked on the project was done locally with 60,000 tons of equipment fabricated in Nigeria by local contractors.
“In addition to drilling records and other significant achievements, the Egina project achieved the integration of six locally fabricated top side modules in Lagos; a first for Nigeria and Africa.
“Total has developed a strong partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other partners. Our downstream operation is so diverse in Nigeria that there is a Total filling station in every local government of the country. Total is today, the only International Oil Company (IOC) that is still active in the downstream sector with more than 550 filling stations nationwide.
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“We are also active in the solar energy with our AWANGO lamps that address the electricity needs of rural communities not connected to the national grid”, he revealed.
On the summit, Terraz said it has shown considerable potential as a destination of choice for oil and gas policy articulation and evaluation; sharing of industry best practices; peer-review of unique solutions to industry challenges; brain storming on the problems yet unsolved; and a melting pot of innovations as well as a forum for discussing emerging global trends that impact the entire oil and gas value chain.
“This makes the 2019 theme- Shaping the Future through Efficiency and Innovation- apposite. Our industry’s future is one which like other realities of life, is full of uncertainties.
“The vicissitudes in the global geo-political terrain, technological innovations within the industry that challenge existing production templates, innovations outside the industry that the industry cannot afford to ignore and which dovetail with demands for alternative sources of energy beyond fossil fuels, concerns for the environment, and the fluctuations in the price of oil, make efficiency in the use of resources, and innovation, a sine qua non.
“It is, therefore, necessary that we share our best practices and experiences in this gathering to enable us adapt and quickly take actions that will sustain us in the far and immediate future”, he added.
Terraz said the Total Group has been present in Africa for more than 90 years and has been involved in exploration activities in Nigeria for 57 years.
“We have a broad and diversified portfolio in Nigeria, with activities spanning onshore, conventional offshore, deep water and LNG. Indeed, Total is the only integrated International Oil Company with presence throughout the entire value chain of the industry in Nigeria – Downstream, Upstream and Midstream sectors”, he noted.