By John Ikani
The execution of the Ubeta Field Development Project by TotalEnergies Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) will create thousands of jobs in the country and catalyse the economy, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) said on Thursday.
The Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, stated this at the signing of the Final Investment Decision (FID) by the project promoters and their contractors, in Abuja.
The Ubeta Field Development Project is being developed under Oil Mining Licence (OML) 058, with an expectation to produce 300 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscfd).
Billed to commence production in 2027, the Ubeta Field facility, located about 80 kilometres northwest of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, would feed and secure gas supply to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Train-7 Project at Finima, Bonny Island, currently undergoing capacity expansion from 22 to 30 metric tonnes per annum (mtpa).
The Executive Secretary based his projection on the Nigerian Content Plan and other documents the NCDMB had signed off with the operator, TotalEnergies E&P, noting that the documents were designed to achieve substantial tonnages, manhours, and spend retained in-country.
The project will also enable capacity utilization and substantial human capacity development (HCD), Research and Development as well as opportunities for banking, insurance, legal, and other services, he assured.
He stated that “the approval of the final stages of the Nigerian Content Plan for this project” was one of the first acts he performed on his assumption of duty in December 2023.
Among salient elements of the Nigerian Content Plan for Ubeta Field Development facility is the domiciliation of “100% of its project management manhours in Nigeria,” same for “Front End Engineering Design and Detailed Design,” which will be domiciled 100% in Nigeria, with COREN-licensed engineering companies as preferred executors.
In addition to these, the project will give first consideration to in-country manufacturers that have valid Nigerian Content Equipment Certificate from the Board, regarding material procurement, while fabrication and construction are also to be significantly handled by well-established fabrication yards in the country.
Engr. Ogbe, represented by the General Manager, Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, Esueme Dan Kikile, Esq, reiterated that the NCDMB has effectively aligned its processes “to shorten the oil industry’s contracting cycle to six months or less to engender speedy development of new projects, contribute to increased oil production, and improve the national economy.”
According to him, the Board provided “timely approvals for all the requests and documents submitted by TotalEnergies E&P,” in line with the Service Level Agreement (SLA) introduced by the Board in the oil and gas industry.
The Board has also “complied fully with the Presidential Directives aimed at ensuring cost competitiveness and meeting project schedules of oil and gas projects.”
He equally assured that NCDMB will continue to serve as a business enabler for the oil and gas industry and beckoned on industry stakeholders to continue working together to achieve the objectives set for the industry by President Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
The Senior Vice President Africa, Total Energies E&P, Mr. Mike Sangster, in his remarks, expressed delight with the grounds covered on the Ubeta Project, noting that it fits perfectly with his company’s “strategy of developing low-cost and low-emission projects,” and that it would boost the Nigerian economy through higher NLNG exports.
Noting that TotalEnergies has been very active in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry for several decades, he disclosed that “Ubeta is the latest in a series of projects developed by TotalEnergies in Nigeria, most recently Ikike and Akpo West.”
TotalEnergies E&P is the operator of OML 58 onshore licence, with a 40 per cent stake in the US$550 million Ubeta Field Development Project, while the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has 49 per cent equity.
