By Sebastine Obasi

PARTICIPANT at the just concluded Offshore Technology Conference, OTC, in Houston, Texas, have expressed cautious optimism at the level of attendance by Nigerians to the conference, regarded as the biggest oil and gas event in the world. The Managing Director of Kaztec Engineering Limited, Mr. John Niezner, said that though the low oil prices may have affected the attendance, focus should be on how to reduce cost in the industry.

Offshore gas facility

He said, “Of course, the oil prices affected this year’s participation. The oil price affected the whole industry. That is the negative side. On the positive side, there is lot more effort now in focusing on cost reduction.

“It is a two-prong effect, the negative and the positive. On the negative there is unemployment, as a result of the low oil price. But also there is a lot more focus on cost effectiveness across the industry and that can only be a good thing for the long time because over the last 10 years, there have been complaints of high cost of goods and services. So, I see over the next two, or three years a positive outcome.”

Niezner also said that Kaztec is going through a complete transformation, as it is going to be providing full integrated services from concept right through to drilling and full operations which includes engineering, fabrication, procurement, offshore installations.

According to him, “By stringing all those activities together, we have an ability to drive cost down and efficiency up for the operators. So, there is an opportunity for operators who are sitting on marginal economic reserves to develop those to the use of our services.”

Also speaking, the Chairman of Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria, PETAN, Mr. Emeka Ene, said that despite the downturn in the industry Nigerian participation was commendable.

He said, “On the issue of participation, I will just echo the words of the US Commercial Counselor to Nigeria. When he came to the Nigerian stand, he was excited. He said people were concerned that the oil industry in Nigeria was devastated by the oil price drop. But to his greatest surprise, he found that Nigerian oil companies still engaged the global oil industry by showing their presence. By demonstrating what they have done and what they can do; by discussing with their partners not just about the challenges of today, but how to grow the business tomorrow even within a tight regime.

“That for me sent a very positive signal to the industry, that we are matured, we have come of age, that we can see the oil business as a long term business not a short term quick return. I think that was very important.” For the Group Executive Director, Gas and Power, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Dr. David Ige, despite the fall in prices globally, Nigerians participated well.

He said, “Despite what appears to be a low morale in the industry, we still have strong presence of the Nigerian service companies on exhibition. The continued growth and presence of the service sector, shows the vibrancy of the Nigerian oil and gas industry. There is quite a lot of service companies from Nigeria on display here, always getting more and more over the previous years. Over all, there is a lot to be proud as a Nigerian.”