Shell ups expansion with new drillings on Bonga phases 2 and 3 via subsea tie-back
Leading investor in Nigeria’s premium oil field platform, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), has revealed that it is expanding the field with further drilling of wells in Bonga phases 2 and 3 and through a subsea tie-back that unlocked the nearby Bonga North West field in August 2014.
In a statement the company averred that “The success story at Bonga is not only that it is Nigeria’s first oil and gas production project in more than 1,000 metres of water, or that it increased Nigeria’s oil production capacity by 10 per cent in 2005,” said the Managing Director, SNEPCo, Bayo Ojulari, while reviewing the operations of the company to journalists in Lagos.
“The main point is that Bonga is a Nigerian venture delivered by Nigerians, using global expertise and processes offered by Shell that have launched Nigeria into the league of notable deep-water players,” he added.
While describing the Bonga turnaround maintenance in March and April 2017 as a significant milestone in SNEPCo’s operations, the oil multinational stated that it was the most complex and largest turnaround maintenance in the 12-year history of Bonga, and has helped to ensure safe and sustained production and reduced unscheduled production deferments.
Ojulari commended the staff and contractor personnel, who had worked hard to ensure sustained production at Bonga, thereby creating a stable source of revenue for all stakeholders, particularly the Nigerian government.
He added further that “We are working hard to strengthen the Nigerian connection. It is not a coincidence that since 2005, the managing director of SNEPCo has been Nigerian and today, 96 per cent of SNEPCo’s staff is Nigerian.
“SNEPCo is also committed to further unlocking Nigeria’s deep-water resources and along with its co-venture and government partners is evaluating opportunities to further increase production of the Bonga field in an efficient and cost-effective way,” Olulari noted.
