In its flourishing West African operations, Petrofac has reached an important milestone. We have marked the first year of operations of our five-year US$350m contract with Compañía Nacional de Petróleos de Guinea Ecuatorial (GEPetrol), the National Oil Company of Equatorial Guinea. 

Involving more than 600 people offshore and onshore, this is the largest of our contracts in the region. And it’s just one of several in this part of the world – an important region for the next chapter of the Petrofac story. 

We caught up with Ed Jones, Head of Business Development for Asset Solutions, to find out more about the scale of the opportunity and why Petrofac believes it’s the right provider, with the right capabilities, and the right business model to help build West Africa’s energy future.

Give us a feel for the scale and nature of Petrofac's West African operations?

We’ve been active in North Africa for more than 20 years, so we already know each other pretty well.  

Over the past two to three years, we’ve been accelerating our presence in West Africa, and the growth trajectory looks very exciting. Right now, we have operations in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mauritania, and Senegal, as well as Equatorial Guinea. Often, we are working with existing clients, such as Tullow Oil, CNR International, and bp, and the type of work we do is what Asset Solutions is famous for - like mature and late life asset management, FPSO operations, integrated services, production enhancement and decommissioning.

Going forward, Asset Solutions’ emphasis will focus on mature asset management, and we aim to work with more of the national oil companies, because our model is the perfect fit for their emerging needs. 

Why here? Why now? What’s the rationale for extending Petrofac’s West African operations in today’s market? 

The conditions are uncannily like those that Asset Solutions has enjoyed in its traditional core market, namely the North Sea. It’s a well-established oil and gas basin, with an ageing production infrastructure, where many of the traditional operators - typically international oil companies - are looking to divest their assets.  

At the same time, several West African countries are looking to revitalise their domestic oil and gas industry and strengthen their energy security, including the delivery of ambitious field development programmes.

All of this leaves a gap for an experienced, credible service provider like Petrofac, that can apply the disciplines pioneered in the highly regulated UK market - where we helped to make the North Sea oil and gas sector one of the world’s safest, most efficient, and most technically advanced. 

But it goes further than our technical knowhow. What really sets Asset Solutions apart is our operating model and our approach to local delivery. 

Tell us more about the Petrofac operating model. What is it, and how does it set Petrofac apart?

Our model is fundamentally different from other energy services businesses. There are four things which, in combination, make us unique:

First, as an integrated services operator, we don’t try to do everything ourselves. Instead, we coordinate and choreograph the work of an extended supply chain, sourcing and managing the best and most cost-effective solution for every client, spanning the entire asset lifecycle.

Second, we have an operations mindset. Managing facilities and delivering consistent operational improvements is what we do and how we think. Whenever we deliver any plan repairs or equipment upgrades, we always think through the operational and production implications. By contrast, many of our competitors are project-based contracting businesses.

Third, we have a local delivery model. Wherever we work, we aim to employ local people, nurture local supply chains, and develop local talent and capabilities. This, in turn, helps us reduce costs, de-risk delivery, and build strong, long-term relationships with local stakeholders.  

Fourth, many of our most important client relationships are with national oil companies. We understand their motivations, we respect their operating cultures, and we want to help them achieve their broader strategic goals. Today, many of these companies are focussed on building Africa’s energy future - and we want to help them do exactly that.

So, you could say that, here in West Africa, we are cherry picking the very best of Petrofac from around the world - the technical skills we perfected in the world’s most competitive and highly regulated markets, the insights we picked up from working as an operator, plus the emphasis on in-country value we are famous for. 

Can you talk us through some of the achievements from the past few years that make you most proud?

Above all, we have proved that Petrofac is a safe pair of hands.  

By its very nature, transitioning a large and ageing asset from one operator to another can be hazardous and disruptive. But we’ve done it several times over and there have been almost immediate and tangible improvements in efficiency, safety culture, and productivity. Look, for example, at our record on the Espoir Ivoirien FPSO for CNR International in Côte d'Ivoire. After landing the facilities management contract in mid-2023, and welcoming 100 new colleagues to Petrofac, our teams have safely delivered a steady stream of initiatives - including structural repairs to the helideck, several major tank repairs, a major equipment overhaul, a significant shutdown operation, and an under-water inspection programme - while also handling two offtake operations every quarter and extending the safety record to three years LTI-free. That’s indicative of our wider West African performance. 

I think, when it comes to the local delivery model, we’ve also proved that we practice what we preach. Both in Côte d'Ivoire and in Equatorial Guinea, we have worked hard on supply chain engagement and put a big emphasis on capacity building. This includes flexibility in each country that we operate – complying with local requirements. There are clear supply chain synergies which we are developing, with new suppliers across West Africa, who can support us in the region and across our wider global footprint in some cases. For our own teams, we have introduced new training workshops, and our clear aim is to employ and train more local country nationals. Similarly, in Côte d'Ivoire we are partnering with universities offering internships. Going forward, we are eager to introduce the type of training facilities we build and operate elsewhere. 

Can you tell us about the scale of the opportunity going forward?

We see West Africa as an important region of growth for Petrofac. More of the international oil companies look set to divest assets in the region, several countries are actively looking to boost domestic energy capacity, and Petrofac is successfully demonstrating the difference we can make.

Right now, I’m looking at more than US$1bn worth of opportunity, and that figure is only going to grow. It’s an interesting and exhilarating time – for the region’s energy sector and for Petrofac.