Bonga Mkhwanazi
Senior Project Manager/Energy Consultant/Oil and Gas/Renewables/Subsea Cables/Substations/Fixed Foundations
Experience
Feb 2023 - Present
2 years 4 months Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Director
Gowip Energy Sdn. Bhd.
- Responsible for the planning and execution of large complex EPC Solar Projects within the SADC Region to augment the existing national power grids currently running on fossil fuels
- Develop processes and techniques to evaluate the local supply chains and technical capabilities to maximize the local content requirements within the projects
- Provide oversight and cascade the global best practices during the technical feasibility and constructability studies of solar farms
- Successful completion of 132kV Export Cable Termination Works on 70MW Mafeteng Solar PV Plant in Lesotho
Jul 2019 - Feb 2023
3 years 8 months Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Project Manager
McDermott International Inc.
Project: Marjan-1 Full Field Development for Aramco, Total Value ~$3.5bn
- Responsible for the full EPIC Scope of 2x 230kV Export Cables (90km each) from onshore Substation to 6 New Offshore Producing Platforms (Oil & Associated Gas) and 75km of Pipelines
- Led, managed, and motivated multidisciplinary teams from suppliers, subcontractors and fabrication yards(sites) enabling them to become high performers in delivering the agreed project scopes within the schedule and cost constraints
- Timely identification of potential cost overruns and schedule slippages and developed mitigation strategies in conjunction with the Project Director and the Cost Controls Team
- Managed revisions to the agreed Lump Sum Turnkey Scope of work whilst ensuring that the necessary amendments to the overall project schedule, milestone dates and contract prices were made well within time, considering the committed schedules
Results & Achievements:
- During the 18 months Covid lockdown period, there was minimum disruption to normal business operations due to the rapid response systems that I set up for the team such as cloud-based dashboard progress reporting using Tableau instead of individual excel files
- Project Managed the world's longest dual circuit 230kV subsea cable system (90km each) from Nexans Norway, installation in 2024
- Received praise from Saudi Aramco for exceeding their expectations considering many challenges faced on the project
Mar 2014 - Jul 2019
5 years 5 months Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Subsea Package Manager
McDermott International Inc.
Projects: Safaniya Offshore Field Upgrades Phases-2,3,5 & 6 for Aramco
- Led the negotiation sessions with the manufacturers of cables, umbilicals, rigid and flexible pipes in China, Norway, Japan and the UK prior to order placements/contract signing
- Resolved conflicts, promptly and amicably
- Performed regular reviews at manufacturers' facilities to ensure that their activities were in line with the overall project schedule
- Monitored the cost aspects of the project, forecasted final costs and identified trends to avoid budget overruns
- Coordinated all aspects of the scope of work to ensure alignment and integration between Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Quality Teams
Recognition Award:
- Internal spot award for the seamless execution of the subsea scope for Safaniya Phase-3 Project with a focus on minimizing cost overruns by aligning delivery schedules and consolidating all subsea project materials from Europe during shipping to the Middle East
Mar 2010 - Mar 2014
4 years 1 month Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Project Engineer
McDermott International Inc.
Project: Safaniya Phase-1 Offshore Field Upgrades Project for Aramco
Achievements:
- Successfully led the Integrated Factory Acceptance Test (IFAT) of the Digital Control System in the UK with multiple stakeholders from different regions
- The result was that the IFAT was completed one week ahead of schedule and Aramco Reps were extremely satisfied with the positive outcomes
Apr 2007 - Mar 2010
3 years Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Graduate Project Engineer
McDermott International Inc.
Projects: Various for MAERSK Oil Qatar, RasGas Qatar & Reliance India
Achievements:
- Successfully completed a global 3-year rotational graduate development program with placements and exposure in Project Planning, Supply Chain Management, Subcontracts, Engineering, Fabrication, Marine & Project Management
- Due to high performance, the final placement was in Project Management, which was highly sought after by all graduates but only a few were selected
Jan 2005 - Apr 2007
1 year 4 months Durban, South Africa
Graduate Project Engineer
Unilever Foods
- Led and managed various CAPEX projects with a value of ~$2M
Summary
Results-driven, analytical Project Leader with over 17 years of broad experience managing multi-million-dollar offshore oil and gas projects across 3 regions and recently on Renewables, including 14 years on Aramco Projects. Expertise extends to managing combined project budgets in excess of $300M, leading diverse and multidisciplinary teams to execute on design, engineering, fabrication and offshore installation of subsea assets such as connectors, umbilicals, manifolds, flexible risers, pipelines, jackets and composite cables. Recognised for consistently exceeding set project goals and deadlines while executing robust risk management strategies.
Possesses a proven track record of effective communication and leadership qualities working with multi-cultural teams to translate project visions into reality.
Languages
English
Native
Xhosa
Advanced
Education
Oct 2002 - Jun 2005
University of Cape Town
Bachelor of Science · Electrical Engineering · Cape Town, South Africa · Class Medal for top marks in Xhosa A, 2004
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