Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its joint ventures partners are investing about $21 billion on the construction of Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels for seven new deep offshore oil projects to be executed over the next 10 years. 

The deep offshore fields that the FPSOs would be deployed to include the Bonga Southwest, to be managed by Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO); the Usan oil field, managed by Total; and the Bosi and Yoho fields, managed by ExxonMobil. The fields are expected to contribute significantly to the projected 40 billion barrels of oil reserves targeted for 2010.

All fixed platforms for offshore and onshore projects, anchors, buoys, jackets, and storage tanks are to be fabricated in Nigeria.  Beginning mid next year, all FPSO topsides integration are to be done in Nigeria, while the front-end engineering design as well as detailed engineering for oil and gas projects are to be domesticated by the end of 2005. 

Benefits from the project include tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs created in the fabrication and integration of the FPSO topsides and ancillary works.  More downstream industries would also be created in the vicinity of the fabrication yard, leading to further growth of the economy.