
OpeOluwani Akintayo
14 November 2018, Sweetcrude, Lagos — Experts have called on government and stakeholders in the oil sector, to invest in advanced technologies that reduce cost and increase operating efficiency as Nigeria’s subsea sector is now matured.
The call was made at the Nigerian launch of a partnership between Nigeria’s Royal Niger Emerging Technologies, and England’s V-Lim on Tuesday.
According to the managing director/chief executive officer, of Royal Niger, Mr. Anthony Ogolo, although the country’s subsea sector is matured yet, it lacks the adequate technology to help it save cost and to maximize its operations.
Royal Niger is a Nigerian company that provides drilling and production hardware to the Nigerian oil and gas industry, while V-Lim technologies are geared to create and deliver innovative products and services that maximize the operational life of controls and electrical distribution equipment and to assist clients in maximizing returns on assets. Its products include the V-Lim electricity Line Integrity Monitoring module. Its range of clients includes Total, Chevron, Exxonmobil, BP, Shell, ConocoPhilips, and others.
“There’s something we feel excited about. It’s a disrupter especially in Nigerian’s subsea industry and we want to share it,” Mr. Ogolo said.
“It’s a way to use innovation to make equipment work better and last longer.”
“The relationship between Royal Niger and V-Lim is a unique one because we have identified that there is a massive gap in the local subsea sector, and the capacity to supply products and technologies needed to fill the gap.”
Also speaking, V-Lim’s business manager, Jeremy Edwards, said partnership between the companies would foster the development of the local content as the services require Nigerian input.
“We don’t think of our products as products but as services, and providing services means giving quality solutions to challenges of technology in Nigeria’s sub-sector,” he said.
“This technology is an opportunity Nigeria should grab because it will provide our engineers with jobs. V-Lim is merely bringing the technology while we have our engineers who will go for a site survey to take specifications for planning and then install,” Mr. Edwards said.
Nigeria’s oil sector has seen majorly international oil companies such as Chevron with Agbami, and Shell with Bonga, venturing into the deepwater. Total is also breaking in with the $3.3billion Egina FPSO.
Nigerian oil companies have been unable to break into the subsea due to the high risks, lack of advanced technologies, and finance needed.