The federal government has said disclosed that the proposed construction of a shipyard in Brass Island, Bayelsa State for the maintenance and repair services of cargo vessels, oil tankers and Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) carriers, would save Nigeria about $600 million annually.
The minister of state for petroleum resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, who chaired the project’s kick-off meeting following the commencement of the feasibility study for the construction of the shipyard, said it would be used in ship drydocking by upstream operating companies.
He stated that it would be executed by China Harbour Engineering Company, which had carried out similar projects across the globe as well as in Nigeria.
The feasibility study will be funded by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) as part of its overarching mandate to domicile key oil and gas industry infrastructure and increase retention of industry spend.
The scope of the feasibility study includes geotechnical and bathymetric surveys, conducting a market study, ascertaining an optimal construction scale, developing technical proposal and construction plan and estimation of the required investment to bring the project into reality.
According to the minister, the high traffic of vessels in and out of Nigeria provides a huge opportunity to retain substantial value in-country through the provision of dry-dock services.
He said the shipyard project would further develop and harness the nation’s position in the oil and gas value chain and linkage to other sectors of the economy.
Energymixreport.com