L-R; Abdullateef Amodu, Publicity Secretary of NAPE and Ajibola Oyebamiji, President of NAPE after the press conference in Lagos recently.
The Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), an umbrella association for persons involved in the professional application of geosciences and related disciplines to exploration and production of oil and gas in Nigeria.
NAPE Annual International Conference and Exhibition (AICE) is the largest gathering of earth scientists and other stakeholders in the oil and gas space in Sub Saharan Africa. This year’s AICE is the 37th edition with the theme: “Expanding Nigeria’s Petroleum Landscape: Digitalization, Innovation and Emerging New Technologies.” The event holds from November 17-21, 2019 at the Convention Centre of the Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
AICE will host speakers who are high level industry practitioners, key personnel in government and the academia, delivering technical papers on eight sub themes, which includes: Petroleum Business and Regulatory Environment, Basin Analysis, Petroleum System Characterization and modelling, Advances in Geophysics, New Technology Applications in Exploration and Production, Contributions of Indigenous/Marginal Field Operators, Talent Management, Capacity Building and the Next Generation of E&P Managers, Alternative Energy Resources and Exploration, Production Activities including the environment.
The Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari will be the Special Guest Honour and opens the ceremony Tuesday, 19th November 2019.
However, NAPE observed that Nigeria is at risk of long-term disruption to oil and gas supplies, power generation, a collapse of industries and significant loss of revenue due to continued reduction in hydrocarbon exploration activities. Procurement and contracting cycles in the Nigerian oil and gas industry is about 36 months making it the longest and most inefficient in the world.
Also, the issue of insecurity, oil theft and illegal refining are bigger threats to the oil and gas industry in Nigeria than the declining price of oil. Low oil price regime in Nigeria has led to dwindling reserves, more burdens on foreign reserves, pressure on infrastructure, social services and inability to meet commitments to institutional lenders.
The Association observed as well that technology is the heart of all significant achievements in the oil and gas industry. The new era of disruption blowing across virtually all industries, there is need to embrace new technology as sustained low oil prices are driving the adoption of digitalization across the oil and gas industry.
It is against the backdrop of the foregoing that NAPE will in its 37th AICE be deliberating on petroleum business and regulatory environment with a view to addressing challenges of exploration and production. Deliberation will be on the onshore, offshore and Nigeria’s frontier basins, as well as seek new approaches for exploration and production in the Cretacious and Cenozoic basins.
AICE will beam its searchlight on new technology application in exploration and production using big data, digitalization, data analytics, artificial intelligence opportunities among others. Participants at the conference will also be discussing the contributions of indigenous and marginal field operators.
The NAPE conference has four major formats which includes, conference; pre-conference workshop, the all convention luncheon and management session. An exhibition that will showcase latest technologies, products, services and competences from major International Oil Companies (IOCs) and Indigenous Operators (OPs) in the upstream sector of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Besides, there will be an Industry Awards night which is the biggest social event of the conference and learning opportunities for young professionals with Women in Geosciences and Engineering (WIGE), a sister association of NAPE.
NAPE has over 12,000 members which cuts across the oil and gas industry. It was founded in 1975.
On other developments as regards exploration activities in Nigeria, while answering questions at the press conference, NAPE president, Ajibola Oyebamiji, made it known that the advent of technology has given concentration to oil exploration in frontier basins. Most of these basins even existed for years.
Oyebamiji disclosed that there are seven sedimentary basins in Nigeria and Niger Delta is one of them. These basins are being explored with technology.
The recent discovery in Gongola basin shows that government is concentrating on frontier basins devoid of political and ethnic interference hence other parts of the country where there are basins will be explored including Anambra and Chad basins.
The NAPE president posited that no amount of money is wasted on exploration activities depending on the environment either green or brown fields. Although, some massive finds are not even in the Niger Delta but exploration seems to be cost effective due to existing infrastructure which cannot be compared to virgin land.
On his part, the Publicity Secretary of NAPE, Abdullateef Amodu was of the view that no existing basins are neglected. He noted that there are graduates of Geology doing significant studies on basins across the country. It is after discovery and exploration that such processes are made known and NAPE is a technical professional body whose ideas find oil.
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