… Says Deep Offshore
Act Amendment Long Overdue
The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, has called on oil and gas
professionals in the country to embrace the culture of innovation and technology
towards transforming the industry and by extension improving the nation’s
economy.
Kyari made the call while delivering a keynote address at the 37th National
Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) Conference and Exhibition
in Lagos, recently.
Speaking on the theme ‘Enabling Nigeria’s Petroleum Landscape: Digitalisation,
Innovation and Emerging Technologies’, Kyari said for the Industry to be
transformed, professionals in the sector must collaborate and make
digitalization a priority, invest in human capital development programmes,
optimize the use of Industry data platforms as well as invest in the oil and
gas collaborative ecosystem.
According to the NNPC GMD, the corporation was committed to leading the change
in transforming the sector through various initiatives and partnerships in the
roadmap to becoming an integrated energy corporation delivering value to its
various shareholders.
“As part of our current strategy, NNPC will strive to grow our reserves,
increase oil production, rehabilitate the refineries, ensure availability of
petroleum products and attain net exporter status,” the GMD stated.
According to the NNPC helmsman, the Industry must urgently take advantage of
the opportunities derived from big data digitalization and emerging new technologies
in the course of its operations.
The GMD, who described the recent amendment made to the nation’s Deep Offshore
Act (DoA) as long overdue, said there was nothing to worry about by any
stakeholder in the Industry.
He maintained that Nigeria remained a viable option for investors as the
success rate for finding oil are very high, especially in the Niger Delta
region.
He called on industry stakeholders to support the government towards the
passage of the Petroleum Industry legislation which he described as necessary
for stable and sustainable investment to thrive.
He said with the reality of reserves depletion in the country, there was the
need for NAPE to galvanize industry leaders and partners to embrace exploration
for more oil and gas reserves and for the members to deploy their abilities to
ensure successful campaigns.
He observed that following the recent significant oil discovery in the Kolmani
area of the upper Benue trough by the NNPC, the corporation sees higher
prospects in other frontier basins based on current understanding.
“It is instructive to highlight that our exploits and successes in the Upper
Benue trough were achieved through the deployment of the most recent techniques
and technologies and the efforts of our in-house geoscientist and other
petroleum experts,” Kyari added.
He said right from its inception in 1977 to date, NNPC had continued to
transform its business and organizational perspectives to align with changing
business realities through strategic partnerships with various stakeholders
across the entire business value chain.
Earlier in his address, NAPE President, Ajibola Oyebamiji, commended NNPC for
its success in oil exploration in the Gongola basin, a development which he
said had challenged exploration professionals in the Country to work harder
towards contributing their quota in the quest to grow the nation’s reserves.
He also called for the speedy passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill to enable
clear roles for all stakeholders, attract investment and make businesses
thrive.
“Our reserves and production targets will be very difficult to meet when such
enabling policies are not in place,” Oyebamiji added.
Kyari Charges Oil, Gas Experts on Innovation, Technology
