This oil field is located in the Niger Delta, an area with significant potential and reserves of natural gas and oil, and is already in the drilling and development phase. The development is expected to have a useful life of approximately 30 years and be available at least 343 days a year.
Sarens has participated in this project by providing 40-axle-line SPMTs, which were responsible for moving the project’s jacket from its fabrication area to the transport barge for its final location.
This development has a large reserve of high-quality light crude oil in its main reservoirs, along with a significant presence of associated natural gas, which opens the door to its future commercialization and a reduction in flaring.
Sarens, world leader in heavy lifting, engineered transport, and crane rental services, has been directly involved, alongside its subsidiary Sarens Buildwell, in the construction of the new Nkuku Ikong Field Development Project. This is an offshore project located in Akwaibom, in Nigeria’s eastern region, in which Sarens was involved in transporting a 330-ton jacket to the barge in Warri Delta State, using 40-axle-line SPMTs (Self-Propelled Modular Trailers) for this purpose.
This new development combines two separate hydrocarbon discoveries originally awarded separately by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). The Nkuku and Ikong fields contain primarily high-quality light crude oil in their main reservoirs, as well as a significant amount of associated natural gas, which will allow for potential commercial exploitation in the future and a reduction in flaring during extraction. This new development is expected to have a useful life of approximately 30 years and be available at least 343 days a year (94% of the time).
As a preliminary step to this project, Sarens’ engineering team, in collaboration with its client EK One Global, conducted a site survey to validate the solutions to be implemented. It was then decided to use 2x20-axle-line SPMTs (40 lines total) to expedite transport; these were transported by road to the job site. The 330-ton jacket had to be jacked up using the SPMTs and crawled to be loaded onto the barge responsible for its final transport. All of this had to be done while accounting for the prevailing weather conditions, including rain, and the need to coordinate the barge’s operations with the predicted tides, ballasting system and coordination with the marine team.
This development will consist of a Wellhead Drilling Template, a Mobile Offshore Production Unit (MOPU), and a 17-km export pipeline from the Nkuku/Ikong field to the Odudu field. A Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) unit will be used exclusively. The MOPU will contain processing equipment and accommodation modules (UQ) for production operations personnel.
The MOPU’s process facilities section will consist of an integrated deck housing a single three-phase separation train (gas/oil/water), produced water treatment, seawater treatment, gas compression facilities, a flare tower/flare stack, and a drilling rig/wellhead with 8 slots for both production and injection wells. The MOPU’s living quarters (UQ) section will consist of an integrated deck housing utilities, cabins, lifeboats, the helipad, power generation, and the escape structure.
Oil meeting export quality specifications will be transported via a 6-inch jumper hose to the FSO. Produced gas will be used for gas lift systems and injections to optimize oil recovery, as well as for use during the field’s end-of-life phase. The client may identify future opportunities for gas monetization, and options for excess gas, if available, will also be explored. To maintain field production, water injection and gas lift facilities will be utilized. The required design life for the Nkuku/Ikong MOPU will be 30 years from the initial installation of the support structures and topside.
According to Mohammed Kamal, Operations Manager at Sarens Buildwell, “Our company’s experience in executing projects of this scale and our ability to provide the necessary equipment at the right time have been key factors in ensuring our client’s satisfaction. We thank EK One Global for their trust in us, and we look forward to continuing to work with them in the near future.”
Sarens Buildwell Nigeria has solidified its position in Nigeria’s energy and oil sector through the execution of complex logistics and industrial projects. Notable among these are the successful transport and delivery of large-volume critical equipment for the Utorogu gas plant in 2024, the transport of 78-ton oversized tanks for the Dangote Petroleum refinery in Lagos, and the recent hoisting and installation in 2026 of two heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) modules weighing over 150 tons for the Train III expansion project at the Indorama fertilizer plant in Eleme, thereby strengthening the region’s energy infrastructure.
About Sarens
Sarens is the global leader and reference in crane rental, heavy lift and engineered transportation services. With state-of-the-art equipment, value engineering, one of the world's largest inventories of cranes, transporters and special rigging equipment, Sarens offers creative and intelligent solutions to today's heavy lifting and engineering transport challenges.
With more than 100 entities in 65 countries operating without borders, Sarens is an ideal partner for small to large-scale projects. Sarens currently employs 5,000 highly qualified professionals who are ready to serve the needs of any client worldwide and in all market sectors. https://www.sarens.com/