Netsach partners German firm on fuel tankers’ tracking technology

A NEW technology that could effectively enhance fuel logistics in the country may soon be introduced, courtesy of an initiative by some German investors.

  The German initiative is expected to compliment the current tracking system being used by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for petroleum products’ haulage. 

  Speaking at a symposium in Lagos Tuesday organised by Netsach Limited to find solutions to oil losses in the downstream sector, Prof. Reinhardt Nindel said logistics remained a major challenge in the supply value chain of Nigeria downstream sector.

  He described new technology (SercAM) as a tracking system that ensures a combined tracking and security solutions with a web based Global Object Tracking System (GOTS) and sensor which check against theft, very manipulations of loaded and unloaded amount of liquid observation amongst other series of well developed features.

  The technology is expected to be introduced into the country by the Netsach Limited in collaboration with Ibes AG of Germany. 

  The Technical Director of Netsach Limited, Godson Samuels, while addressing issues in petroleum products transportation in Nigeria at the symposium, said that the country resorted to road transportation of petroleum products due to the activities of pipeline vandals.

 He said major freight movements across the country are done using the road transportation, adding that its company has decided to partner with the German firm so as to find solution to help investors use the current option to take inventory and protect their assets.

  “As a result of major pipeline issues, about 80 per cent of freight movements are done by road and there has been a steady growth in number of heavy goods vehicles. We have an average of about 5,000 tankers involved in wet cargo haulage to move about several million litres of fuel and 2,500 trailers in dry cargoes plying Nigeria roads daily,” Samuels said.

  He added that the current losses have lots of grave economic implications, which if unaddressed, could halt progress in the sector in the near future. “Adoption of reliable monitoring and reporting solution for petroleum products in transit is essential for success in the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry”, he said. 

  Samuels noted that improvement in technology, such as the tracking devices, would help the logistics of downstream petroleum products finetune their already existing quality management systems that could in the long and short run, enhance better margins on Product sales.

  He called on the government to address the problems of poor road networks and also various hindrances such as delays at police, military, state revenue agency and customs check points that obstruct an effective and efficient logistics.