A Case for Sustainability, Digital Transformation of Nigeria’s Energy Sector

...Seplat deploys novel technologies, advocates knowledge acquisition

By Jerome Onoja

Dr Chioma Nwachuku

Seplat has made a case for sustainable adoption of current technological advancements in the Nigerian energy sector. This was made known by Dr Chioma Nwachuku, the General Manager External Affairs and Communications in a recent workshop dubbed #TheWorkplan2019, with the theme: The Future of Work and the 4th Industrial Revolution. She delivered the keynote address with the caption: Powering The Future And Digital Transformation Of Nigeria’s Oil, Gas And Renewable Energy Sector With New Knowledge And Skills.

The oil and gas sector is known for regular disruptions. Across the entire energy resource mix, the place of disruption is not unusual. Evolution from wood, through coal, to oil and gas, as well as renewables, has been marked with steady disruptions that often redefines human existence and relationship with the ecosystem. Since the world witnessed Equinor deploy the first fully automated oil and gas platform, entirely unmanned in October 2018, it further raised the bar as to the possibilities of digital technologies in the hydrocarbon industry. It is endless! Nwachuku cited the advent of shale technology which has transformed the business into a faster cycle by rapidly scaling production to market conditions while keeping costs per barrel low enough to compete even at low market prices.

Majorwaves Energy Report FEBRUARY 2020, Vol 3 No 2 31 She further added that, but in 2018 alone, 40 per cent of new vehicles sold in Norway were electric cars”. “Denmark has been celebrated for generating 40 per cent of its energy need from wind. There are now solar roads designed to generate power in France, while Morocco is building the largest solar power plant in the world”, she said. She went on to list the digital impacts in Seplat, which include: Power BI for efficient decision-making; remote monitoring of wellhead pressure and temperature; use of an ‘as-built’ model of facilities that can be viewed through the Navisworks software; and the use of Infor EAM software to optimize contracting and procurement processes. She averred that embracing digital transformation is important as advances in technology across the globe is affecting oil and gas exploration, production, distribution and marketing, which has provided opportunities for companies to save millions from operating costs, reduce carbon footprint and enable smarter and more efficient asset base. Nwachuku recommended human capital development; investment in technological infrastructure; collaboration among oil and gas companies and the government; digital strategy and security; investment in research and development, to change the narrative in the country’s oil and gas industry. Speaking on how players in the industry can leverage automation, data and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the energy sector, she said that the analytical advantages of big data could help oil and gas companies improve production by 6-8 percent; and lower operating costs by 3-5 percent in the upstream. She added that technological advancements will promote environmental benefits, including reducing oil spills of about 230,000 barrels of oil and also save about 800 million gallons of water and reduce CO2 emissions by about 1,300 million tons. Stating the challenges of digitization, she informed that only about 4 percent of companies across industries have the talent and skills they need to draw tangible business value from analytics. Nwachuku said, according to Harvard Business Review, finding digital talent is one of the biggest challenges facing companies today. She also mentioned managers failing to leverage digital skill across the organization and; most leaders yet to embrace the potential value of digitalization, as some of the challenges. “ “the pressure to reduce carbon emissions is changing the energy value chain; remember, the idea of electric cars was seemingly impossible “ installation of intelligent sensors on all gas plants and select flow stations (at Oben, Okporhuru and Orogho); deployment of Sensor calibration and Site Acceptance Tests (SAT) to ensure data reliability, reproducibility and integrity; “ In the last five years, “Seplat has spent over US$8m on training its work force”, she said.

The company significantly invests in human capital and development programmes that promote new, digital thinking to drive a culture of innovation and technology adoption in the organisation. Seplat has also made massive investments in building its gas business. It currently plays a critical role in the country, with “ its supply of gas contributing about 30 percent to the nation’s needed requirement for power generation of clean energy.

To ensure long-term sustainable growth in digital transformation in Nigeria, the company sees quality education as a crucial tool for improving the prospects of digital transformation and for the economic growth of the nation. Seplat is currently involved in various ways by which it supports the provision of quality education. They include: social educational programmes; Seplat Pearls Quiz and student scholarships. The aim is to promote science, technology and innovation, by training senior secondary school teachers on requisite skills for understanding the role of innovation and technologies; provide and connect teachers to the collection of digital resources; and provide schools with resources to enable them to provide the conducive environment for students to engage in science, technology and innovation.