By Funmi Emmanuel, Abuja.
Customers of GE Oil and Gas, partners and other stakeholders in the Nigerian Oil & Gas industry today met at GE Garages for an interactive session on the role of Technology in the Nigerian Oil & Gas Industry.
Speaking at the event, GE Nigeria Oil & Gas Leader Uzo Nwagwu said as technology continues to play a key role in the development of the Oil and gas industry, there needs to be concerted efforts to build skills and capacity in available local manpower.
Nwagwu said the core of GE Oil & Gas is technology, and this technology will play a critical role in emerging energy markets.
He stated that “As the Oil & Gas industry continues to explore new sources of production, operations are increasing in complexity thus driving significant demand for better technology in equipment and services”.
He explained that GE was investing significantly in the training of engineers and technicians in the use of the ever-evolving technology.
“All GE Field Service Engineers and technicians are indigenous Nigerians. This is part of GE’s localization strategy in the region,” he added.
The GE Nigeria Oil and Gas leader explained that GE delivers expertise to Africa by being a “big business” that acts like a nimble, localized, “small” business.
Nwagwu said “We do this by combining a deep understanding of local demands, challenges, and opportunities in the energy sector with GE’s global scale and R&D.”
GE is said to be investing in technology and service sectors that are critically important to the region, such as subsea and LNG.
Subsea production is expected to increase by 35% globally by 2018 as growing demand, along with depletion of current wells, drives production toward much deeper parts of the sea.
The Garages programme is in partnership with the Dangote Foundation. As a significant stakeholder within the Nigerian private sector, Dangote will help produce and maintain the program and will collaborate on curriculum development for entrepreneurial and non-skilled participants.
