Data Democratisation As Panacea For Cost Reduction
Data Democratisation has been identified as a critical enabler of performance excellence towards operating cost reduction in the E&P sector. This was the position of NNPC/IDSL in collaboration with top E&P industry stakeholders during the maiden episode of its webinar series on achieving operational excellence in asset management, themed: Leveraging Data Democratisation to Improve Asset Management Efficiency which held on August 13, 2020.
Delivering the keynote address for the event Mr. Ferdinand Bariwei, the MD of Integrated Data Services Limited (IDSL) tasked all professionals to key into the evolving industry synergy powered by the GMD of NNPC to accelerate all-round growth in the Nigerian oil & gas industry. He called on everyone to work towards the reduction of the unit operating cost (UOC) of crude oil to $10 per barrel as directed by the GMD, Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari.
Mr. Ferdinand Bariwei acknowledged that oil & gas operating cost is a function of multiple factors and went forward to aver that the fundamental first step to cost reduction understands the key elements of the cost through a proper analysis of historical and current data.
Delivering an elucidating groundbreaking presentation, Mr. Austin Ekeigwe, the GM Operations, Oriental Energy Resources, pinpointed the relevance of data democratisation in the pursuit of asset management efficiency. He shared practical case studies where the performance of brown assets in the Niger Delta, with declining production were remarkably turned around by his team following a scientific integration and reengineering of subsurface and production data to enable data democratisation which provided breakthrough insights for enhancement of production from the hitherto low performing assets. He advised that for any E&P to achieve operational excellence, data democratisation is a sine qua non.
Contributing to the discuss, Mrs. Martina Atuchi, the GM Joint Venture, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) corroborated that the importance of data in contemporary oil & gas assets management cannot be overemphasised.
Contributing from the perspective of the multinationals, Mr. Abdulrahman Majinyawa, the Asset Optimisation, Digital & Technology Manager of SNEPCo, expressed his delight for the increasing awareness for digital transformation in the Nigerian E&P space and added that it is an inevitable revolution. He outlined various steps being taken by the leadership of SNEPCo to expand the adoption of digital technologies and develop digital skills in the areas of data analytics, machine learning, cloud computing, robotics, etc. across its organisation. He added that investment in data to gain useful insights for efficient data management is the way to go for every progressive thinking organization.
On his part the GM Exploration & Development, Mr. Tunde Ehizoje, represented by the Acting Manager Petroleum Engineering Department, Mr. Hamza Salisu, stated that NPDC has taken a proactive and decisive management decision by contracting CypherCrescent Limited, an applied research and technology company, to digitise and democratise all its asset data to pave way for total digitalisation of its asset management processes in line with international best practices.
According to him, this will unlock the full potential of its assets by helping his company to leverage its huge data generated over the course of 32 years since 1988, to easily identify viable well intervention opportunities through advanced analytics, improve asset integrity through automated exception based surveillance, and streamline operational processes to reduce operating cost in line with the directive GMD of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari which requests E&P companies in Nigeria to drive down unit operating cost (UOC), to $10 per barrel. He added that the cost reduction directive is in tandem with the policy direction of the current MD of NPDC, Mr. Sambo Mansur who is vigorously leading and supporting innovative ideas and projects for resource optimisation in the organisation.
Mr. Chike Nwosu (MD, Waltersmith and Petromen) dexterously wrapped up the event by expounding on various factors contributing to operating cost across the E&P value chain, admonished that a shared blueprint for effective digital transformation towards cost efficiency in the Nigerian E&P industry should evolve from the series.
Industry professionals hailed the webinar as timely and crucial as it provides a rallying point for exchange of ideas and incubation of collaborative strategies for enhanced business strategies in the face of growing business demands especially as we try to navigate our way out of the COVID-19 induced economic challenges.
The maiden webinar series on data democratisation, championed by IDSL with technical support from CypherCrescent Limited, was a curtain raiser to the series of other episodes which will expound on other crucial elements, resources and enablers of E&P operational excellence such as process, technology, people as well as institutional support frameworks. The next episode, planned to focus on the best processes to adopt in order to optimise value from E&P big data is scheduled for September 10, 2020 and many industry professionals are looking forward to it.
SOURCE: borderlessnewsng.com
