Penspen, a provider of engineering and management services to the energy industry, has been awarded a contract from Sirius Group to conduct an engineering study for the monetisation of gas reserves from oilfields offshore Niger Delta.

A key element of this agreement is the development of gas reserves of the OML 122 field, located in the offshore Niger Delta region 40km from the coastline of Southern Nigeria.

The study is being conducted as part of Project Dawn, a three year development project worth US$1.2billion that includes the construction of a pipeline network to deliver natural gas to the Escravos – Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS), which was designed and constructed under the supervision of Penspen more than two decades ago. The gas from Project Dawn will feed power plants and different industrial applications in Nigeria.

Project Dawn is expected to introduce 250mmscf/d of natural gas under the Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement (GSPA) between Sirius Oilfield Support Services and Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) a Subsidiary of NNPC.

The project will include an evaluation of the OML-122 field development, subsea gas pipeline and onshore central processing facility. The study will seek to determine the extent of new pipeline and facilities required, and quantify the overall investment required for the project.

The work is planned to include workshops in Nigeria to cover the screening of options, as well as decision and risk analysis.

Peter O’Sullivan, CEO of Penspen, said: “We are pleased to have been selected by Sirius Group to provide our engineering expertise for this significant study, which will increase availability and improve accessibility to energy across the region. I am confident our team’s reputation and experience in conducting similar engineering studies worldwide will benefit and deliver value in developing infrastructure for Nigeria’s gas network.”