By Eddy Ochigbo
Oilserv Limited, a leading provider of integrated Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation and Commissioning (EPCIC) services and complementary solutions across the asset and program life cycle within the onshore, offshore and subsea market segments of the oil and gas sector, is one of the engineering outfits handling the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project, initiated by the federal government; and given the significance of the $2.6 billion worth project, efforts are being intensified to complete the project on schedule.
A statement by the Chairman Oilserv, Engr. Emeka Okwuosa in Abuja, penultimate week, during an inspection of the project – alongside the Board of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, led by the Chairman, Mrs. Margart Okadigbo and the Chief Executive Officer, Mallam Mele Kyari – assured that the all-important 614Km project would be completed on schedule. According to him, the company has completed one-third of the entire project.
While identifying gas as a key factor in the energy value chain of the country, Okwuosa maintained that investment in gas is the only way the nation can bounce back industrially, adding: “the investment will also create jobs for the teeming population.
“Gas is a key factor in the energy value chain in the country. It is what will make Nigeria come up again industrially. We must develop the country’s gas sector because Nigerians need jobs, Nigeria needs industrial development, and gas will make a difference.
“As you can see, every day we are achieving an unbelievable pace with at least one kilometre of welding or 40 inches. I can tell you to go anywhere in the world, you will never see this. This is one place you can see that happening and we are doing this with seven crews.
“When you talk about one-third completed, this relates to construction, that is, the mainline construction, but engineering is more than 80 per cent done, procurement is more than 50 per cent done. So overall is more than one-third, we feel good as a company and we know that what we are doing is historic and it is very important to the country.
“The AKK project is made up of the pipeline and welding you see here, made up of the terminal gas stations, intermediate picking stations, and other stations. So it is not just about the pipeline, it is about the facilities. So we feel good that we are moving ahead and we are sure that we will keep to the schedule,” Engr. Okwuosa explained.
Also speaking, Oilserv Managing Director, Engr. Chigozie Obi, disclosed that the company has deployed the Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) to enable the pipes go deep to truncate the activities of vandals, adding that the system also enables laying of fibre optic cable that can allow communication to know what is happening along the line.
“We have deployed different technologies, we have three different welding technologies already deployed starting from manual which is the conventional one, we have the semi auto and we have the full auto which is the latest technology being used now currently”, he remarked.
Speaking in same vein, Oilserv Project Manager, Engr. Steve Nnorom said the AKK pipeline project was not just a construction project, explaining that there are other ancillary facilities like block valve stations, which he said was also on the main line. He informed that the project has two terminal gas stations, in addition to the intermediate pigging station.
On his part, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mallam Mele Kyari, described the project as a signature project of the federal government, assuring that the NNPC was committed to ensuring a timely delivery of the project. He commended the management of Oilserv for living up to expectation, especially with regard to the satisfactory progress the work has made.
“We are proud of Oilserv because they have proven their professionalism and competence in handling a project of this magnitude. AKK is a project that will boost industrialization across the country and we are happy that an indigenous company is executing the project to perfection. With what we have witnessed so far, we assure the management of Oilserv of our support towards the timely delivery of this project”, he said.
The 614-kilometer long Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline, being constructed to transport natural gas from the south to central parts of the country, is expected to form part of the proposed 4,401-kilometer long Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP) to export natural gas from Nigeria to Europe.