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Bonga deep water project
Bonga was Nigeria’s first deep water oil discovery, opening a new chapter in the country’s energy producing history.
The Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) began producing oil and gas from Bonga – Nigeria’s first deep water oil discovery – in 2005. Lying 120km offshore, the Bonga floating production vessel has the capacity to produce 225,000 barrels of oil a day and 150 million cubic feet of gas.
When it came into production, the project increased Nigeria’s oil production capacity by around 10%, and it will allow Nigeria to remain a leading energy producer for decades to come.
The project has created the country’s first generation of deep water specialist engineers. By the end of 2008, some 75% of Bonga’s core offshore staff were Nigerian. Bonga also stimulated the growth of support industries vital to offshore deep-water projects. And in March 2008, SNEPCO conducted Nigeria’s first ever four dimensional seismic survey at the Bonga field, covering an area of more than 1,000 square km.
The results provided valuable information that will allow SNEPCO to maximise production from Bonga and other fields nearby. Forty percent of those who worked on the survey are Nigerian and will form the core of the senior crew for further surveys.
Watch the video: Shell companies in Nigeria: safety at work
An engineer from Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company describes the importance of safety on a deep-water oil production facility offshore Nigeria.
