NUPRC chief challenges oil industry operators on effect of energy transition

The global momentum and impact of the energy transition have made it mandatory for players in the oil and gas sector to challenge their thinking and evolve innovative measures to mitigate the confounding effect of the energy transition, the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engr. Gbenga Komolafe has said. Engr Komolafe who was speaking at the Energy Year Nigeria 2023 Book Launch and Awards Ceremony in Lagos on Thursday said the must be a concerted effort to drive the African Market integration with a population of about 1.46 million consumers which comparatively is larger compared to the combined population of America and Europe put at about 1.1 million consumers. Such a large market must be annexed, he stressed. “We can also optimize the value chain of our crude oil by developing our domestic refining capacity with multiplying effect on the midstream derivatives such as the petrochemical industry, methanol, ammonia production and LPG that will spur the industrialisation base and improve revenue for economic development.” He added that Africa’s industrialisation capacity is weak purely due to the energy gap and low midstream derivatives and feedstock for industrial development. An economy with low industrialisation is a weak economy.He stated therefore that an innovative approach for funding fossil fuel development in the Nigerian upstream has become more compelling now than ever as a mitigation measure against the onslaught of the energy transition. “Alternative funding mechanism must be sought and pursued vigorously to assuage the effect of defunding of fossil fuel. Such mechanisms could include pre-export financing, project financing, oil for service agreements and prioritisation of gas development being the adopted transition fuel. Furthermore, he stated that attention must be on ways to increase production at reduced unit cost by leveraging improved drilling techniques, enhancing oil recovery and improving oil recovery methods should be leveraged. Others include continuous data gathering and studies to optimise discovery requirements to be pursued to reduce the chances of failure and downtime during drilling.Engr. Komolafe pointed out that the adoption of advanced technologies is crucial in transforming the upstream sector, improving production and delivering benefits to government and investors. “As the world is fast gravitating towards digitization and automation in all spheres of human endeavours, we must not be left behind. Embracing technologies like Artificial Intelligence, big data analytics and the Internet of Things, will revolutionize our operations, enhance safety, and optimize resource utilization. “At the NUPRC, we have continued to be innovative and have demonstrated commitment to digitization and automation of all our operational and regulatory processes in line with our core values of professionalism, responsiveness, ownership and integrity to reduce inefficiencies and optimize processing time cycle in our operations.“To this end, we have embarked on the optimization of the Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) to improve our workflow processes; the Revenue Ledger and Information System (RLIS) portal for companies to submit all local and foreign royalty payments; the National Balance of Payment portal for reporting inward and outward direct investment associated with crude oil export; Asset Management Web Portal (AMWP) for Marginal Fields and petroleum facilities, and many others that are intended to improve delivery on our mandate as provided in the PIA, 2023.“Accordingly, we are embracing and adopting new technologies and advanced recovery techniques to unlock some identified stranded or bypassed oil and gas resources to increase our reserves and ramp up production. We have commenced the use of smart completion to enable commingling of production from different reservoirs to increase production.” The CCE emphasised collaboration as a key factor in fostering innovation. He suggested that government, regulatory bodies, oil and gas operators, service companies and other stakeholders should work hand in hand to create an ecosystem that promotes idea sharing, transparency and mutual support; and must encourage the establishment of partnerships, consortiums and joint ventures to tackle complex challenges collectively.He reiterated the Commission’s commitment to regulatory excellence stating that clear and effective regulations will provide the necessary framework for innovation to thrive while ensuring safety, transparency and accountability in the industry. “The Commission is dedicated to promoting an enabling environment that encourages investments, safeguards the interests of all stakeholders and encourages.