The Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), an upstream subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has achieved a 100 percent local content input in the development of Oredo Integrated Gas Handling Facility.

NNPC’s Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, gave this hint Wednesday during a tour of the NPDC’s Oredo Flow Station, Oredo Gas-to-Pan-Ocean Facility, Oredo Integrated Gas Handling Facility, IGHF, and the Oredo LPG Dispensing Facility, all in Edo State.

While commending NPDC on the local content mileage, Baru expressed delight that a world-class facility was being put in place by a Nigerian engineering contractor in conjunction with another Nigerian company, the NPDC.

He enthused: “From engineering, construction to erection of the various units, we feel very encouraged by the huge man-hours which you are putting in here, day and night, with full local content.”.

The Oredo IGHF is currently about 80% completion and it is projected that when completed in December, it will make provision for dehydration of gas and liquid extraction. It is expected also to also produce both Liquefied Petroleum Gas, LPG, and Propane, in addition to dry gas to the Escravos Lagos Pipeline System, ELPS.

Baru described the Oil Mining Lease, OML, 111, where the gas projects are located, as one of the most significant assets of the NPDC because it is where the corporation’s staff and their contractors design, build and operate facilities hitherto operated by the International Oil Companies, IOCs.

According to him, right from the well-design through to reception of the various liquids to the processing and disposal of the various outputs, it is fully indigenous.

The GMD of the corporation pointed out further that as a national oil company, NOC, the corporation was using the IGHF to showcase its ability to intervene, stressing that “we are not just a player, we are also building capacity that can enable us intervene by taking over any assets whenever any contractor decides to opt out.”

Baru assured that the project’s funding constraints would be addressed soonest, hinting that that NNPC is considering alternative means to complete the project.

Earlier in his remarks, the Managing Director of the NPDC, Yusuf Matashi, thanked the Baru-led NPDC Board coming to inspect the gas facilities, saying it is the first time the company was witnessing a highly-synchronised support towards its projects.

According to him, the LPG Dispensing Facility has the capacity to meet 40% of Nigeria’s domestic LPG market demand and by implication, become a source of revenue for the country.

Matashi said that another advantage of the project is that it would ensure ease of distribution and penetration into the market as it will facilitate the marketing of LPG across the markets in the country.

He disclosed that in line with NPDC’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts, the company had engaged youths within the host community, with a number of them fully involved in the local contracts around the project as well as the pipeline Right Of Way (ROW).

The NPDC boss said: “We have also completed a Skills Acquisition Centre which is currently being furnished in line with the component of the project. We intend to commission the centre even before the project is completed.

“From our records, this is one project that has engendered cordial relationship with the Oredo community and we hope to replicate similar understanding in other areas within the Niger Delta,” Matashi added.