Nigeria orders start of Bonga South West

Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Ibe Kachikwu directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production to begin tendering for the Bonga South West/Aparo project on Tuesday.

In April, the minister had told the companies to complete the preparation works for the USD 10-million project by June 18, daily This Day reported.

“Please recall the meeting held between His Excellency, Mr. President and Royal Dutch Shell on April 17, 2018 in London, on important matters, including the Bonga South West project. In furtherance to the meeting, NNPC is required to urgently conclude all processes leading to the execution of the Bonga South West project by June 18, 2018,” Minister Kachikwu wrote.

Shell intends to build a new 150,000-bpd FPSO for the Bonga South West project. However, the super-major will consider proposals for a converted vessel depending on the price tag. Bidders for the contract are rumoured to include Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries, Cosco, CIMC Raffles and SBM Offshore, who will partner with Nigerian companies to fulfil local content requirements.