Papua New Guinea's Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited has hosted a ground-breaking ceremony for its Steel, Mechanical and Piping (SMP) module fabrication facility and construction training academy outside Port Moresby, near the LNG plant on the shores of Caution Bay.
Managing Director Wapu Sonk explained that, in preparation for forthcoming LNG and mining developments in the country, Kumul Petroleum is establishing a world-class heavy SMP Module fabrication facility, capable of manufacturing many of the infrastructure components required by such large-scale projects.
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| Group photograph of industry players with Prime Minister James Marape and Kumul Petroleum Managing Director Wapu Sonk at the Ground Breaking Ceremony of the Kumul Petroleum Fabrication and Training Facilities. |
Mr Sonk said; “We are pleased to be initiating this industrial plant, since it is important that through this facility the country can demonstrate the real ability to maximise national content in major resource developments - through fabrication of core infrastructure components and training of competent Papua New Guinean tradesmen.”
“The facility will be constructed on more than 60 hectares of land adjacent to the current LNG plant and close to Motukea international port. The facility will have two main production lines - for structural steel fabrication and pipeline & pipe spools fabrication, with separate module assembly areas.”
Mr Sonk noted that in the spirit of promoting and maximising national content, construction of the fabrication facility would be carried out 100% by national contractors and sub-contractors.
“Kumul Petroleum will not be undertaking this huge industrial operation alone. To ensure a productive and assured operational ramp up of facility throughput, and to minimise costs, schedule and quality risk to major projects proponents, we have reached a preliminary agreement with Fabtech International, a world recognised fabrication facility operator that would see Fabtech take a leading role running the facility, in addition to other potential strategic partners to finance and own the facility.”
“Once fully operational the fabrication facility will be able to produce up to 20,000 tonnes of SMP Modules into the international, regional and domestic PNG oil, gas and mining industry projects markets.”
Mr Sonk noted that associated with the fabrication facility would be the Kumul Construction Academy that would produce a stream of competency-based trained 'Job-Ready fabricators and constructors' in a range of technical trades to generate skilled employees for the oil, gas, LNG, power and mining industries.
Mr Sonk emphasised that maximising national content included the use of local contractors and skilled national employees, “The training to be provided will create opportunities for the next generation of Papua New Guineans to develop lifelong knowledge and practical skills for employment in PNG and internationally - in skilled and semi-skilled positions in a range of industries as PNG’s industrial and resource sectors develop in the coming years.”
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