MOSSEL BAY NEWS - "A little information can be very dangerous and that is exactly what the public of Mossel Bay should guard against when it comes to the TOTAL Brulpadda project that is on everyone's lips," says Shirley Schmidt, CEO of Afrishore (Pty) Ltd, an international oil and gas agency with its head office in Mossel Bay.
The company has been awarded the full logistic management contract for the Brulpadda project.
Shirley was the guest speaker at the Mossel Bay Business Chamber monthly meeting at the Diaz Hotel.
She had the audience eating out of her hand while she spoke with passion and much knowledge about the project. According to her the town and its people should approach the exploration phase with caution and not run away with assumptions and rumours about the project.
She applauded Mayor Harry Levendal and Municipal Manager Adv Thys Giliomee and the tenacity they showed while fighting for Mossel Bay to be the centre of the project. According to her the town was about to lose it to Cape Town, but the said two gentlemen fought with all the facts and material they had at their disposal to keep it local.
The operation is approximately 180km offshore and at present it is run out of Cape Town and Mossel Bay. She explained that this was one of the most difficult holes to be drilled: it is 1,8km beneath the sea and situated in exceptionally torrid seas.
At present there are already two wells drilled with two more on the cards. The finds have been extremely promising. The final viability study will be done next year.
She indicated that there would be scope for many different kinds of businesses in town. Some of the examples mentioned were the support services. The Norwegian teams that have stayed over in town love the area and enjoy the different excursions. New teams will be arriving on a regular basis.
She emphasised the fact that the project was still in the exploration phase and that we should all be patient. However, she called upon the business fraternity to be awake and ready when the opportunities as well as the challenges come. Afrishore, for instance, has committed itself to finding five black women to shadow the five key positions. These women will receive all the training possible as well as the opportunities to work with top people. "This is the only way we are going to equip these women and get them to a standard where they can comply and be fully operational in such challenging posts," she said.
"But be responsible and careful with information that you share. Make sure your facts are correct before you pass them on and keep your eyes and ears open for all the wonderful opportunities that can come to our town," she added.
The next business chamber networking meeting takes place on Tuesday, 18 February at 18:00 for 18:30 at Moore Inc (new offices) at Unit 16, Diaz Office Park, Beach Boulevard West, Diaz.
RSVP by Monday, 17 February to 064 803 3303.
Shirley Schmidt (left) with chairman of the business chamber Paul Kruger (right) and Emile Nel, chef and owner of Bahia Bleu restaurant at the Diaz Hotel. Photo: Denise Lloyd
At the helm of the team to handle the full logistics management of Project Brulpadda is Shirley Schmidt (right), CEO of Afrishore (Pty) Ltd, her son Chris Maree (left) COO of Afrishore and his friend Paula Gutiérrez from Colombia. She is the communications consultant for the project. Photo: Denise Lloyd.
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