‘We need to get the tariff right to fix issues in the oil & gas sector’

Femi Omotayo is the managing director of AOS Orwell. In this interview with journalists, he spoke about the strides his organisation is making in the oil and gas industry and major issues that affect indigenous players. Josephine Okojie was there. Excerpts:

Can you comment on your advent in the oil and gas business?

The company that is AOS Orwell today, was birthed out of a growth mandate as well as the recognition of a need. A need for an indigenous company, with the ability to provide integrated, end-to-end project management solutions in-country, within the full scope of the oilfield servicing industry. Today, AOS Orwell is an indigenous oilfield servicing company, operating in Nigeria and Ghana, in the areas of wellbore construction, process automation and control and oilfield tubular as well as accessory manufacturing and repair services. We like to believe that ours is a company made by Nigerians, delivered by Nigerians and inspired by Nigerians.

What differentiates AOS Orwell from other indigenous oilfield servicing companies?

Beyond being a dependable partner, one of the major things that stand AOS Orwell out from the crowd of other companies like ours is capacity. We build capacity and we have built this capacity phenomenally. We arguably have the largest capacity of any indigenous company within this industry in the country, except for the big Engineering Procurement and Construction’s (EPC’s). We run the ‘total-package’ model which allows us to take on projects of any scale from supply chain, all the way through to maintenance. So, we source, deliver, monitor and maintain the entire process from start to finish. When we are done, we deliver a world-class turnkey project. We are also open to partnership and one of the things we have been able to successfully do is partnerships. We have a robust and committed team of partners in leading global organizations like Emerson, Eaton, Hoebiger, Metal One, and Dettronics among others.

We are truly indigenous, employing top-notch technology transfer to build local content across the entire scope of our operations. This way, we build the needed capacity in-country, harness it, grow it and pass it on down as a means of retaining the knowledge. We pride ourselves as being an equal opportunity employer and frown seriously at discrimination against any employee because of race, colour, religion, nationality, sex or any other related tags. Finally, we solve our clients’ pains, on schedule, according to budget and according to the quality they are expecting.

Do you think this is the right time to attract investment for local players in the oil and gas sector?

It is only when we can look back; that we can appreciate how far we have come. There was a time when there were absolutely no Nigerian companies playing in this field. At some point, Nigerians were missing out on project sharing. Gaius Obaseki, the former group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), was the first man to give us freedom. He started publishing the contracts before they were awarded. This gave Nigerians better insights into the contracts available on ground and helped them stand a better chance of winning bids. Then in terms of available funding, Chukuma Soludo, former central bank governor came and consolidated and made it possible for Nigerian banks to offer reasonable money. So we are gradually getting better. We now have Nigerians with off-shore rigs that work. We have Nigerians owning oil fields by themselves. So we can do it. The capacity of indigenous firms has increased now.

The outlook for Africa’s Oil & Gas Industry is positive in the middle of troubled operating and economic headwinds. With oil prices steadily on the rise towards pre-collapse levels, internal and external conditions have arm-twisted oil and gas companies to be more efficient especially in the areas of cost. This no doubt, has impacted the way indigenous companies in the oilfield servicing industry operate. Investors as well, now, more than ever, have an increased need for clarity and certainty in making key investments against this backdrop.

In your opinion, how far do you think local content has come and what has been the impact on businesses?

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The local content is a jewel for indigenous companies operating in Nigeria. The Local Content Act, which has built what we see today, is evidence that we have what it takes to be world-class. For example, when I was growing up, I was told that Africans cannot make control systems, and I believed because it was complex. Today, when I walk into our workshop and see our ‘local boys’ handling the same control system wires, I get a good feeling. This is very encouraging and the industry has been supportive. The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), has also done well in instilling trust and propelling positive actions in the furtherance of local content in Nigeria. For us at AOS Orwell, we have always been committed to local content even before the law backed it up. We have two world-class schools, one in Lagos, and the other in Port Harcourt where we train young indigenous engineers and help them build capacity in the areas of process automation and control and the other in fishing. We were successful in partnering with the Lagos Energy Academy to train over 50 Engineers, with 60% of them having jobs upon completion of their programme, 4 of those jobs were with international companies. That programme is internationally certified by Siemens and runs continually, with different batches receiving hands-on training within 6 months.

What are some milestones that set AOS Orwell’s footprints in the sands of time?

Being an indigenous company and operating in the sometimes difficult terrain of the industry here in Nigeria, we are so proud of some of the feats we have achieved. For instance, we are the largest fishing company in the whole of West Africa and this is not contested. We are also the largest machine shop in Nigeria when you drill down to capacity and licenses. We have three machine shops, one in Trans-Amadi, Port Harcourt, one in Onne and one in Takoradi, Ghana. Besides, we were the first indigenous oilfield servicing company to assemble drill bits in-country in 2010. We opened the first internationally certified fishing training school in West Africa, in 2010 as well. We also opened the first drilling jar certified service shop.

What are some of the innovations you have deployed using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the oil and gas industry?

The oil industry is a slow learner. It requires a very precise skill set. So, it is not yet robust in that aspect. However, in terms of data, that is where you see Artificial Intelligence shine. In drilling, for example, you do not use AI. However, in the plant itself, you use AI. For example, we have pervasive sensing so basically, this is the measurement in the field. Your transmitter can do many oculus to remotely control what the engineers on the field are doing. You can identify the right transmitter remotely. It can also project the procedure needed to address the specific job being done per time. So definitely, Artificial Intelligence has its place even in a unique operating environment as we have in Nigeria.

Can you tell us about your multi-million dollar facility in Port Harcourt and the local content outlook?

Our state-of-the-art facility in Trans-Amadi, Port Harcourt is excellent. The entire facility sits on a 56,000sqm landmass and hosts our corporate office and the entire drilling and wireline services that we provide. In there, you also have our machine shop, which is well-equipped with welding and fabrication capabilities. So in Port Harcourt, we build control systems, we assemble valves, we build switchgear, we build conductor casing, rotating equipment, skids and much more. Today, we have been able to domicile many services that predominantly used to be imported into the country.

Can you tell us how AOS Orwell is giving back to the society?

For us at AOS Orwell, we strive to impact lives. The way I see it if you do not affect lives, work is meaningless. On the community side, we engage the community. Some of the things we do entail us giving quality man-hours up to 16 hours per staff, going into schools across the different regions where we operate and mentoring the students across a wide range of topics. Some of us teach as well, while others engage in clean-up activities and other charitable ventures like donations to orphanage homes and so on. We also sponsor courses because we are practical in the impartation of knowledge.

Are you going to be part of LNG Train 7?

We will be working on the LNG Train 7 project. We are partners with the winners (Saipem Consortium). Therefore, we can provide end-to-end services on the valves and other aspects of the project.

What other projects are you looking forward to?

Bonga South West is something we all are looking forward to and very hopeful.

Are there major issues in the industry that affect indigenous operations?

We need to get the tariff right. People say, it is expensive building locally, but that is a wrong perception. We have suffered the pains, we have put our necks out and we have seen that this is possible.