Helicopter Acquisitions: Shell Supports Caverton with $85m

Helicopter Acquisitions: Shell Supports Caverton with $85m Loan

13 Mar 2012

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Managing Director of SNEPCO, Chike Onyejekwe

By Ejiofor Alike

As part of its avowed commitment to support the growth of Nigerian indigenous oil companies as well as service providers for the oil and gas industry, Shell Nigeria has supported an indigenous company, Caverton Helicopters, to upgrade its fleet with more advanced aircraft, the AW 139.

Caverton Helicopters is a major provider of charter services to the oil and gas industry.
By providing a loan of $85 million, Shell Nigeria empowered Caverton to place orders for six AW 139s, making it the largest operator of the aircraft in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Shell’s Corporate Media Relations Manager, Mr. Tony Okonedo, who disclosed this in a statement at the weekend, further stated that two aircraft would be used for Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), while the rest would be used in the operations of The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).

The two helicopters had earlier been commissioned at the Caverton terminal at Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

The four AW139s will commence operations for SPDC in April and by the terms of the agreement between both parties, Caverton will repay the loan from the proceeds of the contract it executes for Shell.

Managing Director of SNEPCO, Mr. Chike Onyejekwe, described the development as a giant step for a Nigerian company.

“We began the journey in 2010 when we awarded the biggest aviation contract to a Nigerian company. Both Shell and Caverton have worked hard to take the contract to a higher level, and the story will get even better in the coming years not just for our companies but also for service providers in the aviation sector and the wider economy,” Onyejekwe said.

The Chairman Caverton Helicopters, Mr. Aderemi Makanjuola, stated that the support his company had received from Shell was a lasting testament  to Nigerian content development.

“In the two years since we signed the contract with Shell, we have grown from a company with a staff strength of 90 persons to over 500, creating a pool of highly skilled Nigerians that can work anywhere in the world. The support we have enjoyed from Shell is a lasting testament  to Nigerian content development,” he said.

Also commenting, the General Manager in charge of Capacity Building in the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr. Taiwo Elegba and Director, Air Worthiness Standards of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Mr. Patrick Ekunwe, commended Shell and Caverton for the milestone in implementation of the Nigerian Content Development Act, and introduction of modern aviation services in the country.

The AW139 is a new generation twin-engine helicopter that incorporates the latest technology for safer and more economical operations.

It seats 12 passengers with a state-of- the-art cockpit to reduce pilot workload and cabin air-conditioning as well as more luggage capacity.