By Ndubuisi Micheal Obineme
Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) recently paid a working visit to the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari at the NNPC Towers in Abuja.
The parties addressed key areas of strategic cooperation which include adopting new technologies for cost optimization and higher professional efficiency to bring value into the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
NNPC GMD, Mallam Mele Kyari commented, “NNPC values the contributions of PETAN to the Nigerian oil and gas industry and will continue to keep the Association in the loop, especially in its Nigerian Upstream Cost Optimisation Programme (NUCOP), an industry-wide initiative designed to optimize Nigeria’s upstream operating expenses through process enhancement and industry collaboration.
“Empowering collaborators like PETAN is strategic because of ongoing reforms in the NNPC – aimed at repositioning the company to better serve shareholders, including PETAN member companies and all Nigerians and substantial progress is being made in this regard.
“Our critical initiatives are geared towards stimulating activities back to our industry on the back of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), so PETAN is a major partner to us in our value-added activities”.
He urged PETAN members to be mindful of the flurry of activities centered around gas expansion, penetration, monetization, and export as the nation’s transition fuel, saying that the future of the Nigerian energy sector is gas, which is attracting massive investments and keeping the NNPC as the energy company of the present and future.
Mallam Kyari, who pledged support for PETAN’s annual #SAIPEC in Lagos as well as the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) – the Nigerian Pavilion of which the association organizes in Houston, Texas – added that the new NNPC is undergoing re-branding and needs such platforms to showcase its new identity to industry players.
In his remarks, the PETAN Chairman, Mr. Nicolas Odinuwe congratulated the NNPC on its new status and ongoing reforms and said that the purpose of PETAN’s courtesy call was to extend its members’ best wishes for the success of the CEO on his more challenging task and a more vibrant oil and gas industry post-COVID-19.
Odinuwe urged the NNPC to renew its partnership efforts with PETAN as well as garner the company’s support for the association’s present and future industry events which has primarily focused on burning industry issues such as harnessing local content, reducing and eliminating carbon emissions, renewable energy and nurturing collaborations for economic enhancement throughout Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
He said that as the foremost oil and gas Association in Nigeria, PETAN, which has also been undergoing a restructuring of its own, aligns strongly with ongoing reforms at the NNPC and wishes for its continued partnership in its local content drive.
“We have come to enlist your support and participation at both SAIPEC, holding in Lagos between February 22-25 2022, and OTC in May 2022. Since the onset of Nigeria’s participation at OTC in Houston, NNPC’s presence with her stand in the Nigerian Pavilion and as a major sponsor and participant has brought pride to Nigerians. This is also true for SAIPEC.
“We are therefore seeking your continued presence to show participating African countries and beyond, the Nigerian government’s commitment to the oil, gas, and renewable energy sector as well as to showcase your latest and developing ideas and technologies to show that the industry is thriving beyond compare in Nigeria”