OB3: Oilserv projects September for completion of 2bscf/d Lot
By Olamilekan FAWAS
The Chairman/CEO of Oilserv Group, Emeka Okwuosa, has said that efforts are underway to ensure that the Obiafu-Obrikom -Oben (OB3) ‘Lot B’ gas pipeline being handled by his company is completed by September 2019.
Okwuosa gave the assurance in an exclusive interview with TBI team at the just concluded 2019 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), held in Houston, USA.
TheOilserv chairman explained that the project is quite a challenging one, adding that the company has always shown commitment in the process of executing the project from Engineering, Procurement Construction (EPC) stages.
He disclosed that the OB3 Gas Treatment Plant (GTP) is the largest in Nigeria and by extension Africa with a capacity of two billion standard cubic feet of gas per day (2bscf/d).On the project delay, he said that few changes in the entire design concept alongside some shortcomings led to some setbacks in the initial delivery date.No pipeline of this size and capacity has been built in Nigeria. You will recall that in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, we have the likes of Wilbros, Mark
Demon and others that were not Nigerians pipes, even at that, if you look at all pipeline infrastructure today, you cannot equate it with the pipelines built by Oilserv.
Let us also put it in perceptive that, it is not about the pipeline. We have the GTP at OBEN which is the heart of our scope. The GTP will handle two billion SCF of gas per day. This has never existed anywhere in Africa.
“You have to be there and see the massive nature of it. When you talk about building OB3, is not just building a pipeline. Our own section would
take the gas from mid-point all the way to Oben plant including the Oben plant itself.
“We finished our own pipeline three years ago, but the treatment plant took a long time because the location was changed from Oben North to the GTP location and that took us two years to go through the re-engineering process, getting the approval and finance.“At the moment, the pipeline and the GTP facilities are going through pre-commissioning.
We have a pipeline going to GTP- OBEN. It is a 36 line we built from OBEN to Escravos- Lagos Pipelines System (ELPS) which is OBEN North, which is a bi-directional pipeline, that can take gas from GTP in OBEN into Escravos- Lagos Pipelines System (ELPS) or take from ELPS into GTP”, he added.
The Oilserv Chairman lauded the Federal Government and the NNPC for providing the opportunities for indigenous companies to flourish in the oil
and gas industry.
