By the OGJ Online Staff
LONDON, Mar. 23�Shell Nigeria Exploration & Production Co. Thursday awarded ABB Offshore Systems AS a $180 million contract to deliver the deepwater subsea production systems for the oil company's giant Bonga development off Nigeria.
Under the deal, awarded by the operator on behalf of license holder the Nigerian National Petroleum Co., ABB will be responsible for engineering, procurement, and construction of all of the subsea equipment required for Bonga, including production control umbilicals and gas lift risers.
The contract's work encompasses project management, engineering, and the supply of manifolds, trees, wellheads, controls, connection systems, intervention equipment, integration testing, and installation support.
ABB said it would supply 29 conventional subsea trees and associated hardware designed for oil production from, and water injection into, the reservoir. The equipment will be installed in water depths as great as 1,200 m.
The first subsea kit is scheduled to roll out next summer, with further deliveries being made through to mid-2009.
To support the project, ABB plans to build a new $2 million subsea operations base in Nigeria's Onne free port.
The ABB contract follows on from a string of awards made by SNEPCo last week to European sector companies AMEC PLC, ABB Vetco Gray UK Ltd., Stolt Offshore Services SA, and Single Buoy Moorings Ltd. for various other components for the $2.4 billion development off West Africa (OGJ Online, Mar. 15, 2001).
The subsea production system to be delivered by ABB will be tied back to a 300,000-tonne floating production storage and offloading vessel current under construction at Samsung Heavy Industries' yard in Korea.
Bonga is expected to boost Nigeria�s crude oil reserves by some 600 million bbl, according to SNEPCo, when it comes on stream in 2003. The field was discovered with via an exploration well drilled on the OPL 212 concession in 1995. Following a production test in 1996, three appraisal wells were drilled in 1997-98 confirming the expected reserves.
SNEPCo presently operates two deepwater licences offshore Nigeria�OPL 212 and OPL 219. The licenses are operated on behalf of NNPC under a production-sharing contract by SNEPCo. It has 55%, Esso Exploration & Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Ltd. 20%, Nigeria Agip Exploration Ltd. 12.5%, and Elf Petroleum Nigeria Ltd. 12.5%.
