The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has restated its commitment to the development of Nigerian content in the oil and gas industry.

Group Managing Director of the Corporation, Dr. Maikanti Baru, made the remarks in a keynote address at the Load out Ceremony of the Umblical Flow-lines and Risers (UFR) for the Egina Deep Offshore Project by Saipem Contracting Nigeria Limited, in Port-Harcourt.

“The successful commissioning of the UFR module will guarantee the drilling of the first oil from the 200, 000 barrels per day Egina field by the first quarter of 2018’’ he stressed.

According to him, what is being celebrated is the efficacy of the Nigerian Content Act and the NNPC is strongly committed to the successful implementation of all provisions of the Act.

He commended Saipem on the successful completion of the Egina UFR project which also involves the engineering, procurement, construction, installation and pre-commissioning of 52km of oil production and water injection flow-lines; 12 flexible jumpers; 2km of oil export line; 20km of gas export pipelines alongside the installation and commissioning of 80km of steel tube Umbilical and mooring FPSO and Offshore Loading Terminal. (OLT).

Speaking the Managing Director of Total, Nicholar Terahz, said the Egina project was the largest contributor to the development of the Nigerian content in the oil industry being the largest offshore project currently going on in the country.

He noted that the employment opportunities and technology transfer the project had generated contributed significantly to the nation’s economy.

On his part, the Managing Director of Saipem, Guido D’Aloisio, said the performance of Nigerian engineers on the project was commendable, adding that the country would be proud of it.

The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Simbi Wabote, who was represented by the Board’s Director, Planning, Research & Statistics, Daziba Patrick Obah, said that the quality of jobs done on the project by Nigerians and the gains therefrom will further deepen Nigerian content in the oil industry.

The field which was discovered in 2003 is located at about 20km from Akpo Field within the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 130; it is situated in a water depth of 1, 750m.

When completed, it has a production capacity of two hundred thousand barrels of oil per day (bpd).