An equipment fabrication hub, Lee Engineer International Machinery Services Ltd, will be inaugurated by the Federal Government in the first quarter of 2023 to boost oil and gas production
Chief Executive Officer, Lee Engineering and Construction Company Ltd., Dr Leemon Ikpea, disclosed this at a news conference on Friday in Abuja.
Ikpea said the factory would be commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the facility is an arm of Lee Engineering Group, a leading indigenous oil, gas and power servicing company, in Nigeria.
On completion, the facility would produce heat exchangers especially for gas, high pressure vessels, scuppers and several other equipment used in the oil and gas sector and beyond.
Ikpea who lauded the Federal Government for enacting the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, noted that the company’s 31 years of existence had been dedicated to the servicing of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
He said the implementation of the NOGICD took a step further in encouraging the local manufacturing and fabrication workshop to boost local content and stem importation.
Ikpea said the factory would have been commissioned this period to mark its 31st anniversary if not for some technical hitches.
Ikpea said the issue would be resolved in Europe.
“As soon as the issues are resolved the factory will be commissioned in the first quarter of 2023.
“It is going to save money for the country while there will be patronage by other countries, including Angola and Mozambique.
“We are equally building a Jetty close to the factory for export,” he said.
He said that the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva and his counterpart in the ministry of Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, had already inspected the factory.
He said the project had also been supervised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
