Technology, Indigenous Capacity Key to Nigeria’s Energy Future  – THISDAYLIVE

Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited is an awesome opportunity for Nigeria, with an incredible opportunity to scale up our experience on the African continent. Our vision to be Africa’s leading energy company, sustainably enabling energy security and industrialisation aligns with my personal values derived from my over two decades’ adventure in the energy industry. My career so far has seen me take on responsibilities that spanned a large aspect of the hydrocarbon value chain and ensured that I gained experience in what it would take to deliver results in difficult and high-risk environments. This includes working in several facilities, both on land and swamp locations, as a Facilities Engineer, working on well optimisation and deferment reduction, asset optimisation, business and technical planning, chief of staff to a senior business leader, manager of four satellite integrated oil and gas facilities before my move to pipelines operations management and finally now as Asset Manager for Pipelines. Through this journey, I have learnt that the key to achieving organisational goals is the ability to unlock the delivery potential in your team, both in the short term and the long term. This entails creating an enabling environment for your team to share their ideas and supporting them to bring those ideas to life if they are feasible and have a chance of delivering business value.

How has your academic background in Chemical Engineering and your MBA influenced your approach to strategic decision-making?

What you would find is that the business world is very different from what you learn at school because it is more about the application of knowledge rather than the knowledge of engineering principles in itself. For example, it was my knowledge of process control that enabled me to have a challenge session with my control room operators in a gas plant I managed, which led us to adjust certain interrelated parameters, resulting in our highest gas production recorded at the time. The MBA helped me to deepen my understanding of strategy formulation and the importance of strategy execution in successful businesses. This has helped me to prioritise developing the ‘how’ immediately after deciding what we want to achieve as a team.

You are leading a multi-year pipeline rejuvenation strategy aimed at supporting 500,000 barrels of oil per day. What does this target represent for the company and Nigeria’s broader production ambitions?

We all need to be aware that Nigeria’s upstream landscape has undergone a decisive structural shift and since Renaissance came onboard as operator of Nigeria’s largest oil and gas exploration and production joint venture (NNPC/Renaissance/TotalEnergies/AENR JV), we have enjoyed goodwill from well-meaning Nigerians, host communities and various institutions. Everyone wants us to succeed, and at Renaissance, we talk about unlocking Nigeria’s energy potential and scaling toward one million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030. We are very clear that this is not a slogan. It is a long-term ambition that must be earned through disciplined execution. I can confirm that Renaissance operates under a structured loss-reduction framework tied to operational efficiency, security programmes and infrastructure integrity. We have taken our first concrete action to secure the right foundation. The acquisition of the former SPDC assets gave us scale, a rich oil and gas portfolio, and a workforce with deep operating knowledge. Then we deployed a three-step transition: safely receive, stabilise and grow. This has put us on the path to one MMboe per day , a journey we have embarked upon, and our responsibility is to move steadily, credibly and responsibly in that direction. Our strategy is aimed at creating sufficient capacity to convey our target barrels of hydrocarbons to the various points of sale in the country and feed into the government’s ambition to increase production to over two million bpd, increasing national income and helping to further stabilise the economy.

Achieving 100 per cent pipeline availability and eliminating illegal connections are significant milestones. What structural reforms and operational strategies made this possible?

We must commend the excellent collaboration we have with government security forces assigned to protect national assets in our areas of operation, and the support of private security contractors engaged by government. This has steadily helped to move operations away from the destructive grip of crude theft, when terminal receipts dropped to about 10 per cent of what was produced into the pipelines. Internally, we restructured the way the team addressed crude theft. We separated and dedicated a crew to respond to illegal connections, giving them the resources to do so while freeing up the other team to continue its pipeline integrity assurance programme. This sharpened accountability and focus.

Pipeline vandalism and illegal connections have long challenged Nigeria’s oil sector. What sustainable measures are required to address this issue permanently?

Curbing pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft requires a unified front of government, operators and host communities. This is what we have deployed in Renaissance operations, and we are now seeing the gains in increased availability and stability on the pipeline networks. First, both government and operators adopted an intelligence-driven security framework, combining enforcement capabilities with the use of drones for real-time monitoring. Secondly, we embraced a community-centric protection model. When local communities see pipelines as shared assets rather than government infrastructure, the incentive shifts from sabotage to cooperation. Thirdly, stronger legal deterrents, including special prosecution courts for energy infrastructure offences, ensure swift prosecution. Finally, we adopted a joint transparency framework where government agencies and operators share real-time analytics on breaches and recovery.

How do you think digital technologies and simplification principles can reshape asset management and operational efficiency in the energy sector?

Digital technologies, especially those that help simplify how we operate, will redefine asset management in the energy sector. In Nigeria, where we manage infrastructure across challenging terrains and complex stakeholder environments, digitalisation offers us a chance to fundamentally change our operating model.

Digital tools help us move from reactive to predictive asset management by detecting anomalies long before failures occur. Predictive insights help reduce unplanned downtime, improve personnel safety and extend asset life at a fraction of replacement cost. Using lean methodology simplifies workflows, and when combined with digitalisation, we achieve faster field decision-making, improved compliance and a more empowered frontline. It also creates transparency that aids faster decision-making.

In your view, how critical technology is to improving reliability, cost control and long-term sustainability in oil and gas operations?

At Renaissance, we strengthen the safety and reliability of our operations by taking a balanced and sustainable approach. We are adopting smarter technology, better route rationalisation, improved contracting practices, stronger collaboration with relevant agencies and deeper community engagement. We are leveraging AI for production optimisation, virtual metering, advanced inline inspection tools, SCADA optimisation, leak detection systems, drones, advanced pigging tools and integrated monitoring systems to create continuous visibility across our assets.

Technology reduces waste across the value chain. The use of drones reduces the cost and safety risks of deploying personnel in difficult swamp terrains. Digitalisation also helps reduce carbon emissions by detecting fugitive emissions early and reducing environmental footprint. In Renaissance, within the first 100 days, we increased production by 100 kb/d. Within 150 days of taking up JV operations, our assets and people surpassed oil production by about 40 per cent and returned us to fulfilling contractual gas supply quantities to NLNG for the first time in over five years.

You played a leadership role in commissioning the Southern Swamp Associated Gas Gathering Facilities. How does this project align with Nigeria’s gas development and energy security agenda?

The Southern Swamp Associated Gas Solutions (SSAGS) project demonstrates how indigenous operators like Renaissance are helping Nigeria translate gas potential into real energy security outcomes. By injecting about 100 MMScf/d of gas into Nigeria’s domestic market, SSAGS contributes meaningfully to the power sector. It supplies over 30 per cent of the gas in the domestic gas network and supports industrialisation using cleaner fuel.

SSAGS eliminated routine flaring across Renaissance’s Tunu producing nodes; Tunu, Opukushi, Benisede and Ogbotobo,  significantly reducing emissions and supporting national decarbonisation objectives.

What role should indigenous energy companies play in accelerating domestic gas production and infrastructure expansion?

Indigenous companies are now at the centre of Nigeria’s energy future. With recent asset transfers from IOCs and the growing importance of gas in our national economy, their role is more critical than ever. Indigenous companies must lead in developing marginal fields, unlocking stranded gas pockets and advancing short-cycle gas projects. They should invest in midstream infrastructure, expand pipeline networks into industrial clusters and build shared infrastructure corridors. They must also drive capability development in pipeline integrity, corrosion management, gas plant operations and digital systems to ensure Nigeria retains value domestically. Gas is Nigeria’s transition fuel. Indigenous operators must expand access to affordable gas for power, industry, transportation and clean cooking , directly enabling economic growth and improved quality of life. In summary, indigenous companies are not just operators, they are nation-building partners positioned to transform Nigeria’s gas landscape.