Nigeria over the years has strived to be an oil and gas hub, well prepared to meet series of challenges that may arise in the course of oil and gas exploration and production activities.
Challenges relating to Search, Rescue and surveillance among others which are so critical to the operations of the industry have constituted serious issues for the entire industry, especially when the need arises. Most times when there are issues concerning safety in the industry, such as Search, Rescue and surveillance, expatriates are often brought from abroad at a very high cost to the industry and the government. But this time the operations are to be fully manned by Nigerians.
This is why many industry operators heaved a sigh of relief when President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned the National Oil and Gas excellence Centre ( NOGEC), established by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Lagos .
The president said the establishment of NOGEC, situated at the Lagos Annex of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), would enhance safety, value and cost efficiency in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
He said: “NOGEC aligns with the administration’s commitment to fostering stability, growth and sustainability of the Nigerian oil and gas industry for economic development. You will recall that at the inception of this administration, we set a clear road map for the oil and gas sector in order to increase revenue.”
According to him, the centre would boost the nation’s Gross Domestic Product ( GDP), generate employment and poverty reduction.
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“It is therefore another milestone in the development of the oil and gas sector and its utilisation for the greater good of the country
The establishment of the Centre is not only a response to a safer, cost efficient and sustainable oil and gas industry, but also a strategic move to position Nigeria as regional and global leader in cost efficiency, breakthrough solutions and value added services for the industry.
To achieve the aforementioned three- prong value drivers of Safety, Value and Cost efficiency, the integrated NOGEC complex encompasses five units, namely, Search, Rescue and Surveillance (SERAS) Command & Control Centre, National Improved Oil Recovery Centre (NIORC), Oil & Gas Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre (ADRC), Oil & Gas Competence Development Centre (CDC) and Integrated Data Mining & Analytics Centre (IDMAC).
The main elements of each of these centres which underscore their role in driving cost reduction, increasing production and enhance value for the Industry.
For instance, Search, Rescue and Surveillance (SERAS) is a flagship programme of the Centre designed to enhance safety management, emergency preparedness & response and routine transportation for bed space management. SERAS will therefore drive cost reduction and improve operational efficiency across the Industry. Conservatively, it is projected that upon full implementation of SERAS, the annual industry expenditure for offshore and remote locations flight logistics and emergency response will reduce 50 by per cent – a significant gain towards the country’s target reduction of cost-per- barrel across our operations.
The National Improved Oil Recovery Cent re (NIORC) on the other hand, is designed to promote the implementation of Improved and Enhanced Oil Recovery technologies/ methods to arrest the incidences of production decline and resultant high cost in many assets especially in the matured Niger Delta Basin. In essence, NIORC will trigger secondary and tertiary recovery operations in the industry. The Centre will collaborate with operators, global technology centres, international oil & gas regulators and other relevant parties to leverage experiences and best practices for application in Nigeria.
In another vein, the Oil and Gas Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre (ADRC) is created to arrest the prevalent value erosion attributable to sub-optimal development or non-development of oil and gas assets due to lingering disputes in the Industry.
By the same token, the other two units namely, the Integrated Data Mining and Analytics Centre (IDMAC) and the Oil & Gas Competence Development Centre (CDC) are structured to position Nigeria as a top-tier destination for credible, bankable and investment grade data in oil & gas and to serve as regional hub for competence development respectively.
According to Sarki Auwalu, Director of the DPR, in his speech during the commissioning, he said that the journey to NOGEC began with the express mandate of Mr. President for the Industry to reduce cost, improve efficiency and create employment.
He stated that based on these directives and the ministerial delivery priorities, the Department of Petroleum Resources ( DPR) identified five key initiatives that will help to achieve the intent of Mr. President’s mandate. It is pertinent to note that the entire oil and gas business is hinged on revenue and safety, which provide the basis for identifying the five initiatives that form the pillars of NOGEC.
“The National Oil and Gas Excellence Centre encompass industry-focussed programmes that will drive strategic mediation in operations, skills and competence development, use of Big Data, Internet of things (IOT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for decision making, deployment of proven technology for secondary and tertiary oil recovery as well as coordinated response for emergency”, he said.
The oil and gas industry he stated, no doubt now has the resource and platform to interact, cooperate and collaborate on salient industry issues that remain impediments to cost reduction, safe operations and optimum value optimisation.
In his remark, the minister of State for Petroleum Resaources , Timipre Sylva said the centres are structured to position Nigeria as a top- tier destination for credible, bankable and investment grade data in oil & gas and to serve as regional hub for competence development respectively. He said The centres will provide cost-effective data and analytics solutions for investors, financiers, operators as well as resources for oil and gas capacity building and trainings.
The NOGEC represents a state-of the-art, integrated facility that will provide the oil and gas sector with the much needed technical and resource capabilities for stability, growth, safe operations and cost efficiency for the benefit of all.
