Riding on the pedestal of the newly inaugurated Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), local Oil and gas traders/operators have been advised to leverage technology if they truly desire to join the global oil and gas community.
Mr Osagie Ediale, the Chief Executive of Flagship Energy Limited, said in a statement in Abuja that the deployment of technological initiatives for procurement in the oil and gas sector will certainly boost their trading operations.
Ediale noted that the adoption will make operations in the sector to be seamless as all the perceived or imagined bottlenecks will become things of the past.
The Flagship Energy Limited boss said technology is fast dominating every operation and all human activities, so introducing it to the oil and gas sector especially in both the upstream and downstream areas should be encouraged.
“Elsewhere in the global community, technology has been adopted in virtually everything and so we should leverage on this locally by making it a way of life,” Ediale submitted.
While giving kudos to President Muhammadu Buhari for his assent to the PIA, Ediale said indigenous operators like Flagship Energy are looking forward to supporting the growth of the Nigerian economy through technological innovations and efficient business strategies in the light of the complexities in the oil and gas sector.
‘’Knowledge of information technology driven discipline, which require specialised skills set and deep financial capability are key drivers of the sector,” he explained.
According to Ediale, the Federal Government derives its mainstay for the economy from sales of crude oil, gas and condensates and so much is needed to boost its revenue streams by adopting technology to block all the leakages since the economy will remain glued to the oil and gas sector for a long time to come, considering its strategic importance.
It will be wise to put in everything necessary to cushion it despite the implications of the current global energy transition.
He admitted that “there are inherent risks in production and sales of the crude such as supply side disruptions and price violations that pop up through geographical factors that could negatively affect government revenue and national budget.”
In this regard, Flagship Energy, he said, is strategically positioned to work with the NNPC Limited to devise cutting edge strategies to mitigate the risk and revenue losses associated with oil price volatility.
Ediale further explained that “as the global energy transition gathers momentum, Nigeria is uniquely positioned to maximise the full potentials of its significant gas deposits which are expected to enjoy strong demand well into the future as transition fuel since renewable energy economy is evolving at a rapid pace with focus on wind, solar, and hydro for transiting to low carbon, greener world.”
He added that Flagship Energy is eminently positioned to offer value in this regard with its deep expertise and experience in the renewable energy sector.