27 January 2012, Sweetcrude, ABUJA – Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), Mr Chike Onyejekwe, said at the Offshore West Africa conference in Abuja that oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria spend about $1 billion annually on new technologies.
Speaking on the topic, “New Technology, Safe and Efficient Offshore Operations and the Regulatory Environment in the Region,” Onyejekwe said growth in world population, now estimated at seven billion, was putting pressure on energy demand, necessitating huge investment by oil and gas companies in acquisition of new technologies.
“Technology is a critical enabler for responding to the energy challenge and I know that the key to technological breakthrough has been research and development, backed up by an overall annual research and development and spend of more than $1 billion,” Onyejekwe said.
He credited Shell with the introduction of many of the deepwater technologies in use in the global oil and gas industry, saying: “Shell is one of the leading investors in the research and development of innovative technologies that will enable, support and sustain deepwater development.”
According to him, the company pioneered the the J-lay technique for installation of deepwater pipelines and proved its first deepwater use during installation of the Auger TLP export pipelines.
Onyejekwe cautioned industry operators to factor safety of environment in their quest for increased production to meet demand.
“We need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and get smarter about how we extract and use resources. We will need to do this against a backdrop of almost constant volatility change,” he said.
