President to inaugurate National Oil and Gas Excellence Centre

Abuja___President Muhammadu Buhari will inaugurate the National Oil and Gas Excellence Centre (NOGEC), Lagos, on Thursday in a bid to boost the operations of the nation’s petroleum sector.

Head, Public Affairs, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr Paul Osu, in a statement on Monday in Lagos, quoted the Director of DPR, Mr Sarki Auwalu, the chief host of the event, as saying that the centre would afford the oil and gas industry the critical elements for competitive advantage, in a changing global energy landscape.

According to him, the integrated centre will also entrench Nigeria’s status as a regional leader and position the nation for significant global impact in the provision of value-added services and breakthrough solutions for the industry in years and decades to come.

He said the centre was structured to drive the three-pronged objectives of safety, value and cost efficiency which are critical for oil and gas industry stability, growth and sustainability .

Auwalu said the NOGEC complex was structured to house various flagship centres, including Search, Rescue and Surveillance (SeRAS) Command and Control Centre and National improved Oil Recovery Centre (NIORC), in order to comprehensively cover all the key areas of the industry.

Other centres are the Oil and Gas Dispute Resolution Centre (DRC) , Oil and Gas Competence Development Centre (CDC) and Integrated Data Mining and Analytics Centre (IDMAC).

“SeRAS is an industry-wide programme established to enhance safety management, emergency preparedness and response, as well as bed space management and logistics services across the industry The SeRAS Command and Control Centre (CCC), established at the NOGEC Centre, Lagos, will entrench safe practices, drive cost reduction and improve operational efficiency across the industry.

Two other Rescue Coordination Centres (RCC) will be set up at Osubi and Brass, in the first instance, for effective coverage of all areas of operations, “ Auwalu said.

He said that the NIORC was established to formulate and implement strategies for improved and enhanced oil recovery methods in the industry for the purpose of achieving maximum production at the lowest possible cost.