An indigenous oil and gas servicing company, Fenog Nigeria Limited (FNL), has recorded a new feat in the underwater laying of oil pipe, as the firm has successfully laid 20″ pipes across 3.49-kilometre river in the ongoing Amukpe/Escravos pipeline project awarded by one of the oil majors. The company had previously laid 24″ pipes across the 1.7-kilometre Escravos River in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State and 24″ pipes across 2.82-kilometre/ObOb Kwale River in Delta State for Agip Nigeria Oil Company (NAOC).
Executive Director of the company, Mr. Mathew Tonlagha said the company achieved the pioneering feat within six weeks.
He said: “The one that is very close to what we have achieved as available record shows was the laying of 3.9 kilometres but that involved the laying of just 12″ pipes and it was achieved in one year. But in our own case, we laid 20” pipes across 3.49kilometres river in just six weeks in the Amukpe/Escravos pipeline project.
“This is an improvement over what we did in the Chevron project when we laid 24″across 1.7-kilometre Escravos River in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State and 24″ pipes across 2.82-kilometre/ObOb Kwale River in Delta State for Agip Nigeria Oil Company (NAOC).”
Tolangha hailed the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deziani Alison-Maduekwe, for creating a level playing ground for the indigenous oil and gas service companies to operate unfettered in the oil industry, adding that her support and encouragement were the catalysts for the success recorded by Fenog.
Tolangha said Fenog would continue to serve as a pacesetter and leading light for other indigenous operators in the nation’s oil industry.
On his part, Fenog’s General Manager, Mr. Chukwudi Uwakwe attributed the success recorded by his company to the deployment of Continuous Horizontal Directional Drilling (CHDD) of which the company was the pioneer use in the world.
“All our jobs are being done by Nigerian nationals in line with the local content Act with the aid of our CHDD rigs, including our new versatile HDD 350 rig, which has the ability to push, pull, tunnel, drill, and truss boring abilities. We have used it to release a stucked pipe in one of our drilling sites of which nobody has been able to do in the whole world”, Nwakwe said.
Meanwhile, Fenog has been nominated as the best Nigerian content company. The award would be formally presented to Tolangha in Abuja on Wednesday.
