Oscarline Onwuemenyi
25 July 2012, Sweetcrude, ABUJA – The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC has announced that it is closer to its dream of becoming a first class National Oil Company with the launch of an ultra-modern Data Centre.
The Green Data Centre, which is designed for maximum energy efficiency and minimum environmental impact is built with leading industry standard technologies adjudged by experts to be second to none in the country.
Speaking at the brief unveiling ceremony, Group Managing Director of NNPC, Andrew Yakubu described the Data Centre as a highly secure, fault-resistant facility which will be available for use by the private sector and other industry stakeholders on commercial basis so as to generate revenue for the Corporation.
“During my inaugural address to staff at the amphitheater on 3rd July, 2012, I marshaled out a line of thought and set agenda which I believe, with the full support of management and staff will reposition our dear NNPC on the path of growth and profitability. Today we begin a bold and crucial journey in our collective quest as a corporate entity with an eye for the future by inaugurating the New NNPC Data Centre,” Yakubu stated.
He said the philosophy behind the project is to establish a center where equipment central to the Corporation can be hosted. Thus business applications like SAP, Nipex, etc. as well as Microsoft Exchange messaging, Intranet systems, and other specialized systems for the NNPC enterprise are to be hosted on the platform.
“It is common knowledge that in today’s global corporate space, Data Centers are not only prevalent but have become indispensable. These centers are specialized environments that safeguard a company’s most valuable equipment and intellectual property, housing the critical enterprise applications and systems that process business transactions, store data, maintain financial records, and provide reliable network availability. The NNPC Data Centre is conceived to do just that and even more,” the GMD enthused.
He noted that the NNPC Data Center will save the Corporation billions of naira that would otherwise be expended in third-party hosting of critical applications central to NNPC’s operations like NIPEX, SAP, etc.
“As a Group, the Data Center will eliminate the prevalent duplication of efforts across the various Strategic Business Units and Corporate Service Units of our Corporation by providing an environment for the central storage of business tools which will be accessible corporate-wide,” he stated.
The NNPC GMD thanked the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke for providing the extra impetus which made the dream a living reality.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, as a philosopher once said, today is the beginning of that great tomorrow that we dreamt about yesterday. I thank God Almighty that this is happening under my watch as the Group Managing Director of the NNPC.”
The story of the NNPC state-of-the art Corporate Data Centre teed-off in 2005 when the project was identified as one of the critical requirements for an effective transformation of the Corporation.
The Data Center project finally left the drawing board in 2010 with the award of the contract to Inlaks Computer Limited.
The new facility has its own independent power system, efficient cooling system, intelligent physical security system, fire protection system and other components to ensure 99.98% consistent availability of critical business applications and information on the platform.
Don Aholu, General Manager, Information Systems Department of the NNPC is optimist that the department and the Corporation would maximize the new Data Centre for the benefit of the NNPC and the entire oil and gas industry.
“I wish to state without ambiguity that the current NNPC IT is ready and able to host and support the most mission-critical of business systems and solutions. As we celebrate this major milestone in our onward march to a world class Oil and Gas Company, we wish to assure you of our commitment and preparedness for the journey ahead,’’ Aholu said.
