Metering, Measurement Conference Seeks Solutions To Nigeria’s Oil, Gas Production Losses

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

Accurate metering and measurement of oil and gas production have been identified as critical to maximising revenue generation in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

Recall that the chief executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe recently said approximately 40 per cent of crude oil losses in the country are due to measurement inaccuracies, not just theft.

Speaking on this year’s conference, scheduled to be held from October 8 to 10, 2024, with the theme, “Advancing Efficiency in Hydrocarbon Measurement and Accounting” NiHMEC chairman, Osten Olorunsola, 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 per cent losses attributed to inefficient measurement.

According to him, while it would be difficult if not impossible to reduce it to zero, reducing that to 30, to 20 per cent presents an opportunity to play there in terms of value addition to the country.
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.

Olorunsola also noted that internationally, the measurement of hydrocarbons, whether it’s oil or gas, has always been a niche area of the business, so not many people are involved in it.

According to him, measurement is critical to Nigeria, “Not just because you want to report, but actually really you want to be precise in terms of your revenue generation. And if there’s any big problem we have today in Nigeria, it is revenues.

“If somebody can just put $20 billion now in our foreign reserves, a lot of the issues the country is facing currently will just die down overnight. That’s really the problem. So we think as a body, bringing this niche area of our business into the fore, we certainly will be contributing quite a lot to Nigeria’s revenue generation,” he said.

Also speaking, managing partner at Fleissen & Company, organisers of NiHMEC Dr. Sunday Kanshio, said accurate measurement is the lifeblood of the oil and gas sector.”

“NiHMEC 2024 offers an unparalleled opportunity for industry leaders to advance best practices in hydrocarbon measurement, metering, and production accounting, ultimately reducing losses and maximising revenue for all stakeholders,” Kanshio said.

NiHMEC 2023 and previous editions have garnered substantial support from both government entities and industry giants, including NUPRC, NMDPRA, PTDF, NCDMB, NNPCL, First E&P, Seplat Energy, Aradel, Waltersmith, and Trexm. Building on this success, NiHMEC 2024 is set to welcome both new and returning partners to join this influential event.