CEO Oildata Petroleum Engineers, Mr. Emeka Ene
Mr. Emeka Ene is the Chief Executive Officer, Oildata Incorporated and the Chairman, Society of Petroleum Engineers, Nigeria Council. In this interview withSTANLEY OPARA, he speaks on the need for Nigeria to grow its oil and gas reserves, among other industry issues.
Why has oil theft continued to thrive despite efforts by the Nigerian government to check the menace?
The economic benefits that accrue from the menace of oil theft have seen the Gross Domestic Product from this illicit activity far outstripping the real GDP from the Nigerian economy. This makes it highly improbable that the present efforts to stop it would yield any positive outcome.
To what extent do you think the government’s ban of 113 illegitimate vessels would go in curbing illegal oil deals?
This is a positive step in the right direction and hopefully would streamline the focus on water borne oil and gas related activities and make it easier to manage.
Don’t you think that the government’s reluctance to adequately finance the Joint Ventures remains a major setback for the oil industry in terms of building oil reserves and growing production?
This remains a bottleneck and unfortunately, Nigeria misses out on a critical investment window created by the falling oil prices; this window is the period where activity should be channelled towards increased drilling activity to boost oil production and neutralise the impact of the low oil price.
Over the years, what has been the impact of the SPE on the country’s petroleum industry?
I would say the SPE had contributed significantly to knowledge acquisition and sharing in the industry. There is no player in the industry that is not an SPE member or has not worked with one. All the CEOs in the sector are either SPE members or have SPE members working with them. From the drilling to production of oil, the SPE has continued to get involved in the whole process.
We are also very involved in different policy initiations in the country. Some of the policies that have had the SPE’s touch are the gas flare policy, and other gas initiatives; even the marginal field programme. Most of our members are working very hard to make it successful. In the downstream, we are also working to ensure the local refining of crude oil. The SPE brings on board global best practices from different parts of the world. The society is bringing development programmes of the petroleum industry to the grass roots. Its catch-them-young programme is also initiated to carry along primary and secondary school students so that they are aware of happenings in the oil and gas sector at tender ages. The SPE in Nigeria, through the Nigerian Annual International Conference and Exhibition, has taken a leadership position in Africa. It is still providing leadership in the technical and professional development of technicians, engineers and operators in our oil and gas industry even during the current downturn in activity.
Do you think existing oil fields in Nigeria have the capacity to spur significant growth in oil production?
One thing that the SPE stands for is knowledge and knowledge sharing, and we appreciate that. The petroleum industry is driven by know-how and by investment; so, if you look at the various levels of progress in the country from the onshore basin to the shallow offshore basin to the deep water basin, it has always been driven by knowledge and investments. With that in mind, the need to unlock the potential of the petroleum industry has become very necessary. All this is built on collaboration.
There is no single person or organisation that can claim to have it all. We have built the industry on collaboration and technology; hence, the SPE is working towards bringing together everybody in that knowledge space in such a way that they are applied to real life problems for the benefit of the industry and the economy. If you look at our industry, there is the tendency that we have different solutions for the same problem.
The SPE allows people to come and challenge the problems and provide solutions. That peer interaction is critical in the sharing of knowledge, and it is our expectation that we will continue to explore more avenues to strengthen the industry.
Do you support the call to dismantle the NNPC?
Government’s focus should be on programmes geared towards stimulating activities in the industry. This calls for sensible and well thought out decisions that create the right macro-economic environment to enhance the growth of the industry. The current NNPC structure in itself is not the problem. The challenge is where decision making does not allow the system to function in line with its real potential.
There are indications that President Muhammadu Buhari might take charge of the petroleum industry. What does this mean to the SPE?
The Federal Government takes key interest in the reform and development of the oil and gas industry. To give you some perspective, we know the oil price is now half of what it used to be. It has happened so fast that some people still have the old price in their documentations. The challenge is: what do we do in this kind of scenario? In the Middle East, Kuwait to be precise, activities in the oil industry are at an all-time high. The same is happening at the United Arab Emirates where they are going to spend about $36bn in their oil industry in the next two years.
What that tells you is that if oil prices have fallen by half, you need to increase your production. In that respect, the resuscitation and growth of our industry should be the target.
We have to catch up and we have to play hard. We need to move our industry forward now by increasing the value of the product. But now, our production is falling, and there appears to be no money in the banks. It is a challenge, and that is the reason the Federal Government has rightly taken a key interest in our industry. As an industry, we have to restructure, remodel and go back to build a more efficient industry to compete with other industries in this very low price oil regime.
Do you think increasing production now is right, considering that the country was said to be selling its crude at give-away prices some weeks ago?
We have been in this industry for a while now. The SPE has been here for close to four decades. The oil industry is like a cycle. There are ups and there are downs. We were here when oil price was $9 per barrel. The prices go up and come down. When it is down, you are to prepare for the next up-cycle. When it is down, you should drill more wells because it will be cheaper to do so. When it is up, you start to benefit from your investments. At that time, drilling for oil becomes very expensive. That is the mindset we need to have and not a panic mindset. That is what the SPE does because at all times, there are strategic discussions going on among members, and insights like this are brought forward. Oil prices are down now, and this is the right time for Nigeria to invest.
What is the SPE doing to make Nigeria’s petroleumindustry competitive?
The Nigerian affiliate, SPE Nigeria Council, formed over 40 years ago, has been delivering on its mission – to support the development of technical manpower for the industry; support indigenous participation in the Nigerian oil and gas industry; and encourage best practices among the producing companies. It has continued to engage and partner the government, oil and gas producing and service companies on initiatives geared towards addressing pertinent strategic issues.
This strategic focus is to increase Nigeria’s oil and gas reserves and production capacity, and support the sustainable growth of the industry for the benefit of all stakeholders.
We remain committed to providing unparalleled world-class opportunities for knowledge sharing, capacity building, networking and marketing of products and technology.
We have continued to exploit forums where policymakers, captains of the oil industry and professionals proffer solutions to the impact of the downward trend of global oil prices on Nigeria’s economy.
The groundbreaking of the SPE energy centre was successfully achieved this year. The project will include diverse oil and gas facilities and a research and development institute for local content in collaboration with Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria.
The SPE Nigeria council also made several courtesy visits to companies and government agencies to promote interest in the SPE activities and to appreciate the support received from these organisations. The SPE agreed to collaborate with the Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun to jointly organise drilling and production-testing simulation training programmes for engineers and technicians.
Source: punch
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