…Presents NNPCL GCEO With PETAN’s Excellence Award for the Frontier Basin Exploration Initiative
The Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Chairman, Engr. Wole Ogunsanya has assured that the group will demystify the cost of oil and gas production in Nigeria.
He gave the assurance when he led members of the team on a courtesy visit to the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mr. Mele Kyari at the NNPC Towers in Abuja,
In statement signed by the Publicity Secretary of PETAN, Dr. Engr. Innocent Akuvue , the Chairman of PETAN said ‘’Realising that all hands must be on deck with the Presidential mandate to revamp the economy through increased oil production, Engr. Ogunsanya pledged PETAN’s all-encompassing overreaching capacity which its members have garnered for decades on the local content journey to ramp up oil and gas production for the country at reduced cost.’
“Our cost of production compared to many countries is too high and at PETAN, we feel that we have the responsibility to bridge the gap of cost production and cost of sales through collaboration with the government, the regulators, and the NNPC Limited.
“In the next few years”, he added, “nearly 70% of onshore assets will be owned by Nigerians and PETAN has the strategy to maximize the footprints from these assets through a well-articulated model that will allow us to master full in-country value chain of Exploration, Production, Midstream and Downstream. The Model Project will start small within 5,000 -10,000 Bopd using our cost-saving technologies, know-how whilst saving cost and then upscale to support NNPCL and other Onshore Asset owners”
Addressing his guests virtually, the GCEO of the NNPC, Mr. Mele Kyari, regretted his inability to physically receive the PETAN team but expressed delight that PETAN remains a dependable partner in the industry despite the critical changes that its undergoing especially in respect to ramping up production.
“We have a very determined President who makes procurement easier now, fiscal systems have been improved tremendously, as well as midstream and Upstream development all of which creates alot of opportunities which we need to collaborate to deliver.
Whilst thanking the team for strengthening ties, he added: “On OTC, we will continue to work with you so that our participation becomes robust and meaningful and to get value, opportunities, and investments back in-country”.
Executive Vice President, Upstream, NNPC Limited, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, who physically received the PETAN team on behalf of the GCEO, equally noted that it was gratifying to hear the aspirations of PETAN, which aligns with the Federal Government’s and by extension the NNPC’s. “From our humble beginnings, we thought that the industry would morph into something much larger, but today, we are starting new beginnings with a good number of divestments that are about to be concluded, presenting opportunities in the industry and are to be run by Nigerians for Nigerians necessitating a stronger synergy between the new operators and PETAN as technical oilfield services providers.
“The Executive Order in itself as an enabler, has tried to address the issue of contracting cycle, which poses a major challenge because it slows down development and increases cost of production. It’s time to work together to improve systems and processes to encourage Nigerians who can do business in Nigeria. In area of domestic gas, we are concerned about utilizing the huge opportunities to unlock the benefits and charge PETAN to collaborate with us in a focused and collaborative approach to fix the power equation in Nigeria which we believe will make everything else fall into place and make counties like Dubai to look like child’s play compared to Nigeria.
“As the GCEO has said, NNPC is committed to continue to work with PETAN and the new dispensation will ensure that we incorporate you in all that we do. On OTC, we also want to charge PETAN to ensure, as the GCEO has said, that value is gotten from the interactions which should be made broader even beyond the African sub-region, which we highly commend PETAN for galvanizing – most of whom look up to Nigeria as the giant of Africa – to attract investments from technology giants to add value in-country”.
The newly elected executives of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria, who have renewed advocacy around helping Nigeria and Nigerians recover from recurrent losses on oil production levels and revenues are offering their services and expertise as experienced professionals in any capacity across the value chain of the oil and gas industry.
“PETAN deems it an honor to be engaging with the highest level of the oil and gas management in Nigeria and well aware of the mandate of the President to revive the economy, stand willing and ready to deepen collaboration with the NNPC to increase oil and gas production for the common good”, Engr. Ogunsanya noted.
He pointed out that the oil and gas industry which has been helping our country stay afloat should not be left to buckle under present varying challenges.
“It was here in NNPC that the policy on local content was first made; how Nigerians would extend the value chain of oil and gas from discovery, exploration, midstream and downstream and retained in-country. In 2010, the passing of the Nigerian Content Act established the NCDMB and catalyzed Nigerians such as PETAN members working at the time in IOCs to come home and begin to develop capacities in the industry.
Commending the NNPC for its leading role in laying the foundation for local content practice in Nigeria, he charged for deepened partnerships on projects across the board, saying: “We have the equipment, the services and the capacities across the value chain – finding the well, well testing, bringing the oil and gas to the surface, early production facility services, we have the capacity for EPCI, oil and gas processing, and so forth to bridge any gap on assets management.
“On OTC, we are partnering with the NUPRC to develop a road show model on attracting potential bidders for deep water assets and we also have an African Collaboration session as part of our OTC programme to chart pathways on this as well”.
The meeting highlight was the presentation of the PETAN Excellence Award to the GCEO, Mallam Kyari in recognition of his leadership and immense contributions to the frontier basin exploration initiative by the PETAN Chairman, followed by group photographs.
