NAPENews Magazine September 2022 Edition

EDITOR’S NOTE
ollowing the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
F(OPEC's) Nigeria quota increase for crude oil production in
August, September came with a new blow. Oil production fell
below 1 million barrels per day, as reported by the regulators. This
decline is a present threat to Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation's
already strained finances, growth indices and fiscal policies. This
reduction represents the ailing and depreciating state of our industry
amidst serious oil theft and growing national insecurity.
This September, exports were the lowest since about 1990, mainly
due to pipeline theft. Puzzlingly, OPEC's data also highlights that at
the high of the crippling militant attacks in the Niger Delta, the
nation's output never fell below 1.4million bpd. These issues should
worry each of us, as Nigeria has now slipped behind Angola as
Africa's largest exporter in July 2022. This begs the question: Where
is Africa's Giant?
At the recent NAPE divestment workshop, erudite Industry captains
posited that years of declining IOC investments, lack of
maintenance and operational challenges are to blame for this
menacingly reduced capacity. While these are tenable, the polity,
Nigeria's ever-changing socio-political landscape shall also take
some of the blame for the current investment landscape.
The outcome of the divestment workshop is the central theme in this
edition, and the editorial team have collated short excerpts from two
of these presentations. One given by Mr. Roger Brown, CEO Seplat
Energy on Seplat's Opportunities Journey, Lesson Learnt, Best
Practices and Vision 2030, the other by Mr. Austin Avuru FNAPE on
Funding Challenges, Divestment Strategies, and Incentives. This
edition doesn't do as much justice as being in the room, but it
provides a lot of reflections that will get you thinking. There is an
additional feature article on “Evolution Of Independents Into
International Oil Companies”.
A few changes were made to our elections campaigns modalities
this year. The Executive Committee resolved to keep our
electioneering campaigns within the NAPE community as much as
possible. This decision was taken to ensure continued professional
cordiality and to create a level playing field for all candidates running
for election into the various positions in the Executive Committee, as
well as keep our affairs private. This move not only helps us better
manage the privacy & confidentiality of members, but also ensures
that our Association does not breach any national or international
data law.
With this, we hope to show that volunteering and campaigning for
elective positions can be cordial and without rancor. We believe as
an executive body, that raising your hand to volunteer is always a
win.
The candidates for this year's election are showcased here and
seizing the opportunity to remind you that voting is currently
ongoing, and you should not forget to cast your votes.
Over the course of this year, we have amplified our presence at
various national and organizational events from the NIES, NOG,
SPE and the recently concluded Association of Energy
Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC) Conference. We continue to
leverage on our power houses: indefatigable Fellows, respected
Advisory Board(s) and Board of Trustees members, members and
organizations represented within the NAPE community.
Collaboration has been a key focus for this administration; here we
share the news of the 2022 Africa Energy Conference strategic
partnership with NAPE.
At a recent company road show visit, an executive made this
comment that got me thinking. “We definitely will be coming to
NAPE to seek the very deep experts' support for our upcoming
educational program for the Oil & Gas Industry”. Comments such as
these makes me wonder if we are leveraging enough on our inhouse
subject matter experts to teach and mentor newer / younger
technical professionals. Do you think we are? Personally, I think,
there is room for more…
Our Chapters continue to render top quartile presentations at their
monthly fora. These are featured to grant you the opportunity to
catch up with the recordings over the NAPE YouTube Channel for
your continuous learning.
Listed-in are featured articles on the seemingly non-ending ASUU
Strike, NAPE's editorial team's detailed findings on the Caritas Fire,
Young Professionals activities and the newly inaugurated NAPE
Student Chapter of the Mountain Top University.
Our Executive feature showcases the Technical Editorial team
leadership duo of Dr. Christopher Jackson, NAPE Editor in Chief,
and Victoria Okorie, the Assistant Editor in Chief. They spoke to
various aspects of their volunteering experience, the virtual field trip
that has come to stay, and shared a portfolio of their achievements to
date.
The danger of an editorial is that once you read it, you may assume
you have read the full magazine. Not this one, because there are
several other amazing articles, activities, and features as well as top
industry news hidden within this edition. Our forthcoming 40th
Annual Conference schedule of activities is one of such.
As we share more information, kindly follow the news. This
forthcoming conference is packed with note-worthy activities that
will aid your personal development, professional growth and support
your industry network portfolio. Register early and don't miss it.
As you read, don't forget to Share, Grow and Live. Wishing you more
success.
To Your Feats
Tunbosun Afolayan