All set for WAIPEC 2018

Hosted by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), WAIPEC 2018 is already projected to attract more than 200 exhibiting companies and 6,000 visiting professionals from across West Africa, Europe, Americas and Asia – with a programme poised to set the standards on content, delegates and industry support for all conferences in the West African petroleum sector.

According to the organisers, it promises to offer:
• Direct access to the primary stakeholders and key players in the Nigerian and West African energy sector supply and value chains.
• Insight into the untapped oil and gas opportunities from tenders, upcoming bids and consortia and projects.
• Connections with government policymakers, those detailing project plans, approving budgets and implementing timelines.
• Information on tenders, bids and consortia and on the present and future roll-out of the project pipelines.

Taking place at the beginning of the year, “the event will set the trend and the pace for the West African oil and gas sector in 2018,” chairman of PETAN, Bank Anthony Okoroafor, explains. “The mindset behind WAIPEC is what makes it unique from other conferences – it is designed specifically to be a solutions conference and a platform for the very best representatives from across the West African energy industry to come together and discuss, deliberate and share their insight and knowledge towards creating beneficial strategies for the betterment of all areas of the industry.”

As in the event’s 2017 edition, the content and proceedings for WAIPEC 2018 have again been driven by an esteemed steering committee and speakers, representing a cross section of key stakeholders and senior representatives from the Nigerian oil and gas industry. They include:
*Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, Managing Director, FIRST Exploration & Petroleum Development Company Limited and Nigerian Independent Oil Companies.
*Bayo Ojulari, Managing Director, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo).
*Simbi Kesiye Wabote, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
*Tony Attah, Managing Director, Nigeria LNG.
*Emeka Ene, CEO, Oildata Energy Group.
*Roland Ewubare, Group General Manager, NAPIMS

• Dr. Mazadu Bako, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC).
• Austin Ojunekwu Avuru, SEPLAT Petroleum Development Company.
• Mordecai Ladan, Director Department of Petroleum Resources.
• Gbite Adenji, Senior Technical Advisor on Upstream and Gas to Hon. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources.
• Jeffrey Ewing, Chairman and Managing Director at Chevron Nigeria Limited.
• Ahmadu – Kida Musa, Deputy Managing Director, TOTAL Exploration and Production.

The 2018 conference agenda will build on the success on 2017, set around the theme of ‘New ventures in West Africa: driving oil and gas production through innovative strategies.’ It will focus on unlocking strategic value, leveraging innovation, best practices and technology that will grow West Africa’s energy industry.

Spread across two days, the programme will bring together global industry representatives to discuss, debate and share their knowledge and expertise, through a mix of technical and strategic sessions.

They will include keynote speeches and presentations around the areas of:
• The future of the global oil and gas industries and likely implication of the trend on the regional industries.
• How Nigeria and African oil and gas industries can compete effectively in today’s challenging industries.
• Funding local content.
• Service company – operator collaboration models – drawing on experience from other oil provinces
• Outlining the National Gas Flare Commercialization Programme.
• Powering the industry – optimising domestic gas supplies, especially for power generation and industrial development.
• Funding and investment Africa’s oil and gas industry.
• Modular refining.

The programme will also feature a series of panel debates, where interactive question and answer sessions will allow delegates to delve deeper into the topics outlined in the presentations.

Finally, closing the conference, PETAN will outline the ambitions of the sector and challenges to the government, mapping out a roadmap for the next 21 months and a call to action – with their expectations and those from the wider industry and other key stakeholders.

Running alongside the conference, the international exhibition, which is free to attend to qualifying individuals, is attracting an increasing number of specialised companies who will be showcasing their latest products and services, including many international and regional energy companies and service providers, regional and national oil companies.

Following huge demand from 2017, the exhibition has doubled in size this year, welcoming an audience that rivals all oil and gas events throughout Nigeria and projected to attract more than 200 exhibiting companies. Bank Anthony explains; “With the floorplan already at 60% capacity, we are very glad to report that the exhibition is going from strength to strength doubling in size from last year with a loyal following and promising genuine return for our participants across the board.”

He added: “The exhibition specifically is designed to give direct access to the primary stakeholders and key players in the Nigerian and West African supply and value chains. It will feature many leading national and international organisations including; The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Chevron, Lee Engineering, Nestoil, Equatorial Guinea, PetroSa and OiLSERV.”