Technological trends in the Nigerian energy industry

Nigeria

Adeolu Waliu Olukayode, managing director of Geophase Resources, talks to The Energy Year about infrastructure projects the company has worked on and the current challenges Nigeria’s energy industry is facing. Geophase Resources provides construction and engineering services for the nation’s oil and gas sector.

What services does Geophase Resources provide for the Nigerian market?
We are a geotechnical company that has been in operation since 2008. We work in the manufacturing, building, real estate and energy sectors. Our clients are Seplat Energy, Port Harcourt Refinery Company and Dangote Industries. We have a licence from the Department of Petroleum Resources for quality assurance services, which is renewed every year.

What projects has the company recently worked on?
We provided Dangote Industries with quality assurance for over 10,000 pounds [about 4,500 kg] of pile foundations. We also assessed the quality of the shoreline at the seaside port in Onne. This required working with our equipment manufacturer in the UK for Dangote Industries to get the required equipment for revamping infrastructure.
Other projects involved providing quality assurance for a flow station for Arup Group in Nigeria and the UK. We helped them optimise maintenance costs. We also worked for Seplat Energy by installing three lumber jetties. We are currently providing reticulation services for the Gracefield Island project. The objective is to reclaim over 600,000 square kilometres of land on the shore. Around 80% of the work has been done.

How does Geophase Resources keep up with new technological trends?
We value innovation and put a focus on identifying trends to improve the technology we use. Many of our operations have evolved from manual interventions to digital ones, both in the field and in the office. We currently deploy an integrated enterprise resource programme that helps us increase productivity by monitoring our site activities and our staff performance both on and off the site.
The Covid-19 pandemic impacted our operations in terms of technology. Employees had to work remotely, and we had to shift our strategy and use the collaborative Office 365 tools to monitor work and stay productive.

What challenges is the Nigerian energy industry facing?
There are several challenges hampering the energy sector. Regardless of the new PIA [Petroleum Industry Act], the environment has not enabled new investments. The major IOCs have not invested in the past three years. Companies like JPMorgan Chase are reluctant to do business in Nigeria.
A major problem we face is the rising theft of oil, which can be linked to the corruption the country is witnessing. This discourages potential firms from investing, irrespective of the efforts made by the energy sector. There is a lot of frustration regarding these challenges.

Is the company looking to expand into regional markets?
Our target for 2025 is to be a part of the major players in the mainstream servicing sector of the oil and gas industry in Africa while looking for financial partners to collaborate with. We plan to highlight our competencies and show financial institutions that we are determined. We want to reach international markets such as Kenya, Cameroon and Ethiopia. We are trying to get local partners to have a better understanding of the new terrain.

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