on MARCH 6, 2012 · in SWEET CRUDE

By Clara NWACHUKWU

Kaztec Engineering Limited, a subsidiary of the Chrome Group, has acquired the new anchor vessels for onshore, offshore and deep water oil and gas services.

The anchor vessels are valued at about $500million, and will complement the existing of vessels in the kitty of Kaztec, an indigenous oil and gas service company.

The anchor vessels, christened, Ekulo Explorer and Ekulo Spirit, the Chairman, Chrome Group, Sir Emeka Offor said, are utility vessels that will be used for various purposes and were delivered to the company at the Calabar Port at the weekend.

He explained, “They can be used to store materials, pipes and other drilling materials for both onshore and offshore services.”

The Explorer is the bigger of the two with a capacity of 6,000 horsepower, while the Spirit is about 4,4000HP.

He disclosed that the group also planned to acquire additional three vessels that will cover the whole value chain of services in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

“The vessels can move barges as well as other materials like pipes and it made a lot of business sense to have them, to move the Ekulo Cheyenne around, run anchors and move around the fields,” he said.

The chairman added that the group has a base and a warehouse for the parking of the vessels in Calabar, Cross River State.

The Chief Technical Officer, Mr. Dan Nicholson, disclosed that to consolidate on the huge investments in vessels, the group planned to construct its own base in Akwa Ibom State, which “will be used to manage our fleet of vessels.

“At the base, we plan to have line pipe manufacturing, coating, fabrication and all the utility systems that go with them. It will be a complete base that will coordinate all of our offshore projects.”

Since the company is planning to extend its services to the deep water arena, Nicholson, noted that all the vessels will complement the move to the deepwater.

With regard to maintenance, he said that all the crew for the vessels has been trained on what to do at every particular point in time, in terms of what is required for their maintenance and amount of fuel required for specific distances.

Although, Kaztec will use the vessels for other oil and gas services, Nichiolson, however, this will be under contract with the oil service firm.

With regard to local content, he said that the company is 100 percent dedicated to the Nigerian content policy, as 67 percent of the workers are Nigerians, while all the suppliers and foods eaten aboard the vessels are also Nigerian.

He said that given Kaztec’s capacity in terms of material, people and equipment, all that was needed now is more support from the international oil companies, IOCs, as the company will soon be done with the Addax Petroleum projects.

The offshore project, which is being executed under a three year contract, involve a number of projects including pipe laying of various sizes as well as the installation of at least five topsides and a host of other jobs will be completed before mid year.

In this regard, “The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, is assisting us in arranging a meeting with the IOCs, to give us the privilege of presenting the company to them and show them what we can do.”

The Safety Manager of the company, Mr. Kingsley Eke, on his part noted that the two anchor tugs have a boiler capacity of about 60,000. “This enables them to pull heavy weight items, carry barges of up to 800,000 tonnes, and we are the only company with such a capacity in the country.”

Apart from their ability to supply water and fuel, and tug services, the safety manager said the vessels also offer accommodation services for up 20 people, in highly comfortable and fully air-conditioned rooms in line with international maritime standards and another 20 on board.

According to him, “These vessels are multi-purpose vessels that can work in shallow water of below 5 meters and deep water of up to 40 meters.”

Furthermore, he said the vessels are equipped with the latest marine technology, such that effluents from the engine cannot pollute the environment, which he rated at almost zero.

“The system is so mechanized that it recycles waste, using biological system, such that once discharged, will not have any effect on the aquatic life,” Eke added.