Lagos Deep Offshore Logistic Base (LADOL) is awaiting what is considered to be a historic moment in the development of the country’s offshore oil and gas industry. Having fabricated part of the topsides of Total’s Egina FPSO, it will soon receive the completed hull for integration, making it, according to LADOL Managing Director, Dr. Amy Jadesimi, the first such procedure to be completed in Nigeria.

“Finally, everyone is in [agreement] on the importance of making Nigeria the hub for West Africa, and how facilities like LADOL are crucial to making that happen,” she said.

Relating this achievement to the Nigerian market, she said that this was only the first step, one for LADOL and other Nigerian ports to continue to build upon – something, she told Offshore, that government officials including newly appointed secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board Simbi Kesiye Wabote are encouraging.

“He [Wabote] also wants to see pricing coming down, because when local content works, you end up getting tremendous cost savings for the industry,” Jadesimi said. “It brings down the cost of doing business because you are operating close to your oil block, you are using local people, and you are manufacturing locally.”

LADOL is implementing several plans to streamline its processes and make them more cost-effective.

Like most of the industry, ways to decrease cost is of increased importance to Jadesimi and her team. She said although oil companies have always wanted to curtail spending, the recent oil price crisis has actually helped bring these abstract pricing discussions about saving money into more concrete terms.

“As soon as the oil price fell, these discussions became very real. We have been able to make a lot of headway this year, in bringing on board IOCs with our business model,” she said. “Our facility is specialized for offshore, so it is a very streamlined, fully integrated business model, [meaning that] we as the base operator provide all the facilities through which the services are delivered.”

As an example, Jadesimi revealed that LADOL was building its own mud plant to service all companies using the yard, with service providers providing design input. Once completed, the oil companies’ chosen service providers will deliver service through this facility. She said that it will cut down on costs for both sides, eliminating the need to maintain multiple plants. It is also designed to allow LADOL to maintain the quality control to a very high standard.

Jadesimi said that model was being replicated across the yard’s facilities, pointing to a roll-out of an extensive cashless and paperless enterprise resource planning system related to its warehouse inventory. She also acknowledged at least one area where LADOL had looked outside of its country for external models.

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