NiHMEC: KEGOZ Group CEO speaks at global conference on oilfield sustainability, hydrocarbon accounting in Lagos

The Nigeria Hydrocarbon Measurement Conference 2024 (NiHMEC) in Lagos brought together industry stakeholders to address the critical issue of hydrocarbon measurement and accounting in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

Oil and gas stakeholders from across the globe converged at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island in Lagos, Nigeria to deliberate on prospects, opportunities, and innovative ways of finding lasting solutions to industry challenges in a sustainable manner.

Organized by Fleissen & Company, an energy infrastructure advisor and supplier, the theme for this year’s conference (NiHMEC 4) is tagged; “Advancing Efficiency in Hydrocarbon Measurement and Accounting.

Highlights of the 3-day event included a one-day pre-conference: A Hydrocarbon Measurement School (HMS) on 8th October 2024, where industry experts delivered short courses and the main conference on 9th-10th October 2024.

Earlier NiHMEC chairman, Osten Olorunsola, had said the conference will bring together some niche cream of the oil and gas industry spanning from people around policy, regulations, and more importantly, the operators to proffer solutions on how to reduce the 40 percent losses attributed to inefficient measurement.

He noted that though there are quite a lot of conferences in the oil and gas industry, the issue of measurement as well as the accounting of it seems to be one area that almost does not bubble up to the surface in discussions, despite being very critical to the revenue generation drive of the federal government.

Dr. Sunday Kanshio, the Managing Partner of Fleissen & Company and Convener of the conference, had mentioned that in the last three years, NiHMEC had formed a major part of the nation’s efforts at ensuring more profitable and sustainable oil and gas economy through expert dialogue.

Keynote speakers at this year’s conference included: Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas); Mele Kyari, Group CEO NNPCL; Engr. Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA); Engr. Gbenga Olu Komolafe, Commission Chief Executive, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

The event opened with a pre-conference workshop themed “Fostering Multidisciplinary Synergy for Effective Hydrocarbon Measurement and Accounting”. Facilitators who spoke include; Patrick Akoh, Sandra Osinachi-Nwandem, Engr. Bashir Umar, Remilekun Adeeyo, Sunday Kanshio. Each spoke on the topics – Best Practices in Flow Measurement Calibration, Ensuring Accuracy & Compliance: A Legal Perspective on Upstream Production Measurement and Fiscal Metering, LPG Terminal Operations: Stock & Loss Management Strategies, Driving Commercial Effectiveness with Accurate Hydrocarbon Accounting – Best Practices, Metering and Customer Billing of CNG at Filling Stations respectively.

The main conference opened with discussions, deliberations, and panels under four major thematic areas and sessions namely; upstream production measurement and fiscal metering, enhancing transparency and efficiency in hydrocarbon accounting, measurement for sustainable oil field operations and environmental stewardship, loss reduction in natural gas pipeline and petroleum downstream operations.

Some of the session speakers include Dr. Ken Uwalaka (Operations & Production Delivery, Antan Producing) who spoke on hydrocarbon accounting management; Engr. Gbolahan Lawal (MD/CEO GIL Automations) spoke on remote measurement of marginal assets.

Dr. Ifeanyi Roy-Omeni, CEO of The KEGOZ Group, a bronze sponsor of NiHMEC 2024, also made a paper presentation on the nexus of hydrocarbon accounting and sustainable upstream development in Nigeria. The objective of the session was to establish the impact of proper hydrocarbon accounting on the development of the upstream oil and gas industry in Nigeria, exploring the structure, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats while also presenting practical ways of ensuring sustainable development.

Roy-Omeni reiterated the importance of hydrocarbon accounting in the local hydrocarbon industry, as investors must see a pathway to returns on investments.

Prior to the conference’s holding, contributions from regulators, operators, OEMs, engineering companies, consultants, and academics, both in Nigeria and worldwide, were requested. Parties submitted titles of their presentations and summaries for selection by NiHMEC’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) chaired by Mr Osten Olorunsola, the Chairman of Energy Institute, Nigeria.

NiHMEC 2024 and previous editions have garnered substantial support from both government entities and industry giants, including NUPRC, NMDPRA, PTDF, NCDMB, NNPCL, Seplat Energy, Aradel, Waltersmith, GIL and The KEGOZ Group.