Saipem Contracting Nigeria says it will utilize its facilities in Rivers State for the fabrication components of the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) of the Nigeria LNG Train 7 Project.

The facilities are located in Rumuolumeni, Bonny, Abam and Onne in Port Harcourt, Bonny, Okrika and Eleme Local Government Areas of Rivers State, respectively.

Director of the Tancredi Group, London, the company that manages Corporate Communications for the construction giant, George Bush disclosed this in response to an email enquiry by Kristina Reports to Saipem International Headquarters in San Donato Milanese, Milan, Italy on the vexing issue that almost set the Niger Delta region in turmoil.

Bush further clarified that Saipem’s fabrication yard in Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt will handle the prefabrication works while construction will take place in Bonny Island, location of the Train 7 Project.

He said that “Saipem developed in Port Harcourt one of the biggest and most sophisticated fabrication yards in West Africa. It has the capacity to fabricate over 27,000 tons of steel structures each year and a direct annual manhour”.

“The Port Harcourt yard covers over 1,000,000 square metres and is situated by the New Calabar River in Rivers State, a few nautical miles away from Bonny.”

“The prefabrication works in the NLNG Train 7 project are planned to take place in the Saipem fabrication yard in Port Harcourt, while the construction works will take place in Bonny.

He further disclosed that the logistics aspect of the project will be handled from the Daewoo Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited at Abam in Okrika and Onne in Eleme Local Government Areas, respectively.

“The Daewoo yards in Abam and Onne will serve as logistics support yards for the project.”

“Daewoo, one of Saipem’s partners in the SCD Consortium (formed by Saipem, Chiyoda and Daewoo) awarded the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) for NLNG Train 7 project, has invested over many years in the development of its logistics base and fabrication yards in both Abam and Onne, all in Rivers State.”  

Days ago, there was a massive uproar on both the social and mainstream media when the news broke that the fabrication aspect of the Train 7 Project was allegedly being moved to LADOL Offshore Logistics yard at Snake Island in Lagos State.

The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), amongst several other stakeholder groups warned the Nigeria LNG against moving or contracting out the fabrication jobs to Lagos or to non-indigenous companies.  

The major concerns of the revolting groups and stakeholders were the massive job opportunities and capacity building prospects for indigenous welders and other specialized services that would be lost to Lagos should such development be allowed to take place.  

But Tancredi Group’s George Bush posited that Saipem Contracting Nigeria would rather deliver its contracted projects in a win-win arrangement where stakeholders’ interest are accommodated and local expertise scaled up and reinforced in a sustainable partnership that deliver dividends to both ends.