Paragon Engineering Services, Inc. has joined with Nigerian firm International Trading & Logistics Company Ltd. (INTRALOG) to form Paragon-INTRALOG Engineering Ltd., a new engineering services company based in Lagos, Nigeria. Paragon-INTRALOG is structured to enhance local engineering infrastructure while supporting Paragon’s continued participation in Nigeria’s oil and gas production facility and pipeline projects.

“For the past five years, Paragon has embarked on a strategy to respond proactively to the increasingly global nature of the oil and gas industry, particularly in rapidly developing countries such as Nigeria,” said Paragon CEO Ken Arnold. “Paragon-INTRALOG is fully equipped to capitalize on Paragon’s Houston-based expertise while also responding to the Nigerian government’s forward-looking efforts to maximize ‘local content’ on oil and gas projects.”

Arnold explained that, while the new company’s home office is located in Nigeria, secure communication links and Web-enabled work processes and software systems allow real-time collaboration with Paragon’s Houston office.

“We provide project management and front-end engineering support from Houston, while more and more of the preliminary and detailed engineering will be performed in Nigeria,” said Arnold. “Using this type of strategy in Nigeria and elsewhere, we have actually been able to increase the size of our Houston-based staff by 70 percent since 1999, while expanding into other countries and building local capabilities.”

In early September, Paragon-INTRALOG Engineering Ltd. achieved official registration from Nigeria’s Department of Petroleum Resources. The company’s management team, including a permanent in-country manager from Houston, has been firmly established in Nigeria for several months. In fact, Paragon and INTRALOG began collaborating on projects shortly after officials of both companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the formation of the new company in December 2003.

Early this year, INTRALOG and Paragon personnel joined forces for a facility audit project in Nigeria for a major international oil and gas operator. Adrian Le-Boeuf, Group Managing Director for INTRALOG corporate parent Sea Petroleum & Gas Company, Ltd., explained that this experience bodes well for the future of Paragon-INTRALOG.

“We are proving that project execution in Nigeria, with support from Houston, provides a win-win situation for all concerned,” said Le-Boeuf.

Since its founding in 1995, International Trading & Logistics Company (INTRALOG), Paragon’s Nigerian partner, has been a preeminent supplier of high-technology equipment and support to numerous exploration, production and industrial concerns in Nigeria. A subsidiary of Sea Petroleum & Gas Company, Ltd., INTRALOG provides equipment supply and technical support services including sourcing and supply of capital equipment, process units, tools and spares; equipment upgrading, installation, testing and commissioning; warehouse and workshop services; and on-site training. The company maintains base offices in Lagos and Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Houston-based Paragon Engineering Services, Inc. provides project management, engineering, design/drafting, procurement, safety, environmental, construction management, inspection and training services to the oil and gas and pipeline industries. Paragon’s expertise encompasses oil and gas production and treating, gas compression, onshore and offshore pipelines, midstream/gas processing projects, onshore facilities, offshore platforms, floating production facilities, subsea systems, human factors engineering and safety and environmental management programs. The company employs approximately 550 people worldwide. In addition to the new joint venture company in Nigeria, Paragon maintains a 75-person office in Kuwait.