How oil companies can beat low price challenge
The oil and gas industry today in the country is faced with the challenge of low oil price which has forced operators to abandon some of their work programmes.
Faced with such a challenge some of them are now addressing the situation by involving various means that would keep them afloat.
One f the critical steps being taken by operators in order to contain the effect of this trying times according Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) is that operators are more focus on finding how to eliminate waste and do things cheaper while still delivering the same or better business outcomes in order to remain profitable.
According to the company there is need for operators to simplify how they do business internally and with their key suppliers, vendors and stakeholders as this will be critical to remaining competitive in the near term and in the very long term.
Oji Eberechukwu, Maintenance & Integrity manager of the Shell Exploration and Production Companies in Nigeria (SNEPCO)who represented the company at the opening of Siemens/dresser rand workshop, in Port Harcourt said the key driver is to keep unit operating costs as low as possible to remain a healthy business.
To achieve this objective, the companies must maintain discipline, eliminate all wasteful or unnecessary cost, remove or stop non-value adding scopes, challenge ways of working to find cheaper and simpler solutions at all levels in our businesses, including carrying out projects of which they have competence and capacity, while leaving the truly specialist work to the specialists. This has resulted in using local companies that are competent to deliver the desired results.
He said this is not just urgent, it is imperative.
This is where Siemens support comes handy and its in-country workshop in Port Harcourt will help to achieve these objectives here articulated and to help allow them to remain in business; as the survival of both operators and the service companies is mutual and beneficial to all of them
He pointed out that SNEPCO in its Maintenance, Reliability and Turn around businesses, has embarked on a five year journey to world class maintenance and one of the ingredients in achieving this is that it would collaborate and leverage on existing relationships with its original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
“I have no doubt that we will collaborate more in the utilization of this workshop for some extra ordinary maintenance and of course in the sharing and transfer of technical competencies in this space; like the just concluded Bonga FGCs inspections in this workshop. Though they were preliminary, we look forward to a time when we can do complete major overhauls of our compressors and turbines and also do high speed balancing in-country”.
Industry watchers have said that this development in which Siemens put a world class service facility in Nigeria in this challenging period when the price of crude oil is low no doubt indicate a very strong support for the Nigerian Content Development NCD agenda and position Siemens as a more responsible and corporate business citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Siemens according to them have grown in supporting the international oil companies(IOCs) operating in Nigeria. From having just one compressor FSR three years back and depending on Lincoln for almost every support to having some locals that can do invariably most of the SNEPCO specialist tasks such as the just concluded 24K of Gbaran SGT400, the Soku Non Associated Gas (NAG) compressor (First NAG Compressor in Shell Nigeria fleet) and the Bonga FGC C overhaul.
In this light, industry watchers are extrapolating that the workshop as it is today in supporting low and medium repairs will metamorphose into a world class workshop in terms of end-to-end major overhaul, high speed balancing etc. Such will reduce their overall logistics cost and mean time to repair.
Also talking about the advantage of having such facility at this particular time Onyeche Tifase managing director and chief executive officer of Siemens Nigeria said it has become even more critical in today’s economy to ensure that industrial plants and facilities run at maximum capacity and efficiency over an extended lifecycle. The technical experts and other employees located in the Siemens Service workshop are well trained, certified and capable of developing and delivering precisely the right support to ensure maximum results and address all customer’s service needs.
“The combination of inspection, repair, overhaul, training, customer-service and maintenance expertise that we now offer, will play a decisive role in maximizing availability and productivity of your Siemens installed systems. Furthermore, the recent integration of the Dresser-Rand and Rolls Royce portfolios into that of Siemens will ensure provision of an even more comprehensive set of solutions and services”. She said what matters to Siemens customers, matters most to Siemens, adding that with the establishment of the facility the company is better positioned to partner on a broader range of projects and initiatives. Siemens will bring to bear; its competence and advancements as a leading-edge manufacturer, the extensive global Siemens network and our strategic local expertise and presence to ensure the delivery of quality, world-class solutions and services.
The Siemens Port Harcourt Service facility is equipped to repair and overhaul highly sophisticated equipment that would previously have been sent overseas.
Olusola Bello