SIR: For decades, Nigeria’s prosperity has been measured in barrels of crude. Every budget and policy statement has centered around how much oil we can pump and export.
Yet the truth is stark: our economic stability depends not only on production volumes but also on the reliability of the systems that sustain productivity. In the 21st century, reliability, not crude, is the new oil.
Every refinery, FPSO, and gas plant depends on a complex web of critical equipment working flawlessly. A single failed compressor, valve, or turbine can halt production, compromise safety, and cost millions in lost revenue.
Across the continent, oil and gas operators collectively spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year on foreign enterprise asset management systems; powerful tools but not always fit for African realities. They assume ideal conditions: perfect data, steady infrastructure, and flawless compliance. Ours is different.
And when things fail, the consequences are more than financial. Lives can be lost, environments destroyed, and reputations irreparably damaged. Yet, much of this can be prevented with the right digital backbone in place; one that understands the African operating environment.
At NoteOpX, we built such a backbone. Our platform is designed around Enterprise Asset Integrity Management; the discipline of ensuring that every machine, process, and person performs safely, efficiently, and predictably. It is the digital spine of reliability for the African Industrial Age.
We define asset integrity through the 3Ms framework, Manpower, Machine, and Material.
Manpower, notably, is the only industrial asset that appreciates with time yet most often dismissed by our competition.
Reliability, therefore, is the product of balance across the 3Ms; systems that learn, predict and adapt in real time.
My journey into this problem began over a decade ago. In 2012, as a young software engineer in Newcastle, UK, I worked on the Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS) for NNPC’s Okono-Okpoho asset (OML-119). That experience opened my eyes to the role of reliability systems in industrial productivity.
Over the years, I implemented various global solutions, including SAP and other European and North American platforms. Yet one truth became clear: they were not built for us.
Africa needs systems that anticipate contingencies; foolproof, resilient and context awareness. That realization birthed NoteOpX. Together with my late co-founder, a European veteran with five decades of energy facilities management and oil & gas experience.
We built a homegrown, intelligent, and self-reliant reliability platform. Incubated within Cocoon Letters, our think-and-do tank, NoteOpX, became a standalone company in June 2024.
In our first deployment, we inherited decades of historical data from a 40-year-old Eastern European provider; and successfully deployed NoteOpX without losing legacy knowledge. We delivered the solution at 2,000% lower cost than the incumbent while providing superior value, as verified by the customer.
Our system seamlessly integrates with global platforms like SAP, IFS, Infor and Maximo, making it both independent and interoperable.
Today, NoteOpX power’s reliability on CESL’s FPSO Tamara Elmina (OML-126) and is being rolled out on Tamara Tokoni (OML-120). CESL recently renewed and expanded its licence; a resounding vote of confidence in African innovation.
I deeply appreciate Century Energy, CESL, and Chairman Ken Etete; CEO of Century Group, my former employer; for his foresight in taking that first leap of faith in a high-risk market. To every young professional: I urge you to serve diligently, whether there is applause or not. Leaders are always watching.
We are now finalising a partnership with the Lagos State Electrification Agency to manage the state-owned power plants, stations, and substations, extending reliability beyond oil and gas to power, real estate, and construction.
Africa invests billions in infrastructure; roads, refineries, grids; yet much of it fails to deliver long-term value because it cannot be maintained. Assets often die before the debts that built them are repaid. Reliability, therefore, is not just an engineering philosophy; it is an economic strategy.
With NoteOpX, Africa is building the digital backbone of its industrial economy, an operating system for the continent’s next industrial age. Powered by AI and machine learning, our platform becomes smarter with every deployment, helping industries operate safely, efficiently, and sustainably with software that understands African realities.
Reliability is no longer a technical metric. It is the bridge between resources and real wealth. The future of Nigeria’s prosperity will belong not to those who dig the deepest wells, but to those who can keep the engines running. And that reliability must, finally, be built at home.
Victor Oluwafemi Adeniji can be reached via:[email protected] or [email protected]
