Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board has commended an indigenous servicing firm, PE Energy Limited, for deepening local content through provision of services in automation, process and systems integration, valve assembly, valve actuation, metering systems, pump and compressor solutions.
Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr Simbi Wabote, who gave the applause while commissioning PE Energy’s ultra-modern Centre of Excellence in Port Harcourt, noted that the centre will lead to cost reduction and enhancement of the reliability and availability of oil companies’ production facilities.
Wabote said company’s area of speciality in automation, process and system integration was of special interest to the Board, especially as the oil and gas industry prepares itself to fully tap into the opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
He commended PE Energy for contributing to the growth of the Nigerian oil and gas sector and Nigerian Content, as the industry is going into an era where massive adoption of technology and innovation will become the norm.
“From unmanned FPSO’s to carbon capture technologies to achieve net-zero emissions, from Big Data Analytics for seismic surveys to the use of augmented realities for human capacity development, the Board is delighted that Nigerian industry players are keen to adopt and deploy these new innovations.
“The facility would also offer services in Instrument Fitting Manufacturing and Service Lines, Training and Competence Assessment, in addition to assembling Early Production Facilities and Mobile Production Units which are essential in the nation’s aspiration to increase oil and gas production.”
Wabote described PE’s Centre of Excellence as an excellent addition to top-notch facilities that showcases the success of Local Content in Nigeria and enhances the journey to the actualization of the 10-year strategic roadmap targeted to achieve 70 percent Nigerian Content in the oil and gas sector by the year 2027.
He also lauded PE Energy’s partnership with global brands in the automation and instrumentation industry, adding that such partnerships will enhance the acquisition of skills by the employees of PE Energy Ltd.
“The quality of the facility guarantees that none of the international operating companies would have any doubt that if given an assignment to PE Energy, it would produce the same quality you will see outside Nigeria.”
Earlier, the Managing Director of PE Energy Limited, Engr. Daere Akobo, indicated that the facility is 100 percent local driven, from administration to technology, adding that the state-of-the-art facility spreads across an area of 10,820 sqm.
Akobo noted that the multimillion-dollar investment had positioned the company as an automation, process and system integration company in the service of critical process value chain in the Oil and Gas industry, offering innovative solutions for the exploration, extraction, processing, transportation, and distribution sectors.
Reeling out the company’s capacities, the company’s boss disclosed that the firm had delivered projects across sub-Saharan Africa, including Kenya and Ghana and had also acquired a seismic detection technology and got approval from President Muhammadu Buhari to fly the northern basin of the country.
He announced that the Centre of Excellence would consolidate the partnership between NCDMB and the Federal University of Technology Owerri and focus on material substitution, which entails research and development in the use of raw materials for the formulation of drilling and completion fluids and additives.
He added that Center of Excellence would provide linkage between the industry and academia and serve as a Competence Assessment Center and contribute towards the creation of highly competent manpower through hands-on training in collaboration with Original Equipment Manufacturers.
Also, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Gabriel Tanimu, underscored the Ministry’s contributions to the promotion of Nigerian businesses and partnerships.
Tanimu said that the Ministry promotes the Nigerian Content Policy and was canvassing for international companies to set up facilities in Nigeria and take advantage of the large market.
He charged operators of the oil industry to patronise PE Energy to ensure return on investment and encourage other investors in the sector.
“Once a business has the blessings of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they achieve better results, rather than just going out to engage international partners on their own.”
