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Nigeria, others must take urgent actions to grow petroleum sector

By Margaret Mwantok
28 February 2020   |   1:24 am
With increasingly complex and expensive new developments as well as low value depleted fields under late life investment or disposal, prevailing local and international realities may continue to create challenges and urgent need for action in Africa’s oil and gas industry, especially Nigeria.

With increasingly complex and expensive new developments as well as low value depleted fields under late life investment or disposal, prevailing local and international realities may continue to create challenges and urgent need for action in Africa’s oil and gas industry, especially Nigeria.

Although the oil and gas industry is witnessing modest recovery from one of the more prolonged downturns in recent time, operators are already rebuilding their drilling programme inventory and rig activity levels, experts under the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC), have said.Gathered at the Africa 2020 Drilling Conference and Exhibition, the industry players took cognisance of situation in Nigeria.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, had last week, said Nigeria’s oil sector has worsened, as the uncertain fiscal environment put a damper on badly needed investments, to ramp up oil production and increase reserves.

Speaking at the 80th IADC in Ghana, the drilling contractors reckoned that in addition to multiple opportunities and challenges unique to Africa, many parts of the continent would struggle to grow or even maintain their economies in the face of declining oil and gas revenues, as pressure on performance of the drilling sector will surely intensify.

Vice President, Eastern Hemisphere, IADC, Hisham Zebiam, said: “Hydrocarbons power our homes, our vehicles, and our lives. No feasible alternatives exist for vital petroleum products including petrochemicals and lubricants. We have increasingly seen developments in carbon capture technology, taking emitted carbon to be sequestered or used in a company’s operations.

“Global oil and gas consumption are expected to grow significantly in the coming decades, particularly in the developing world. Oil and gas energise lives and are vital to economic and population growth.”  

Chairman, IADC Nigeria, Chuks Enwereji, said the capacity and capability to “rise, meet challenges in the industry, and still embrace fresh opportunities from onshore to ultra-Deepwater,” are fundamental and deserve immediate attention. 

He noted that at the last count; rigs in Nigeria had attained an encouraging level of 38, saying that “2019 ushered significant increase in work opportunities for drilling contractors and service companies.”

The IADC is committed to focus on emerging opportunities in Africa by taking lessons learnt from advanced producing countries. These lessons will support local content development as part of measures to mitigate distinct challenges of complex-expensive new developments and low value depleted fields.In attendance at the event were representatives from Nigeria Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Ghana Petroleum Corporation, s well as drilling experts from the United Kingdom, United States of America, The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Spain, France, South Africa, Senegal, and Luxemburg.

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