By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has adopted the ‘AspenOne Engineering’ Software to optimize its engineering operations as part of efforts to keep the nation’s three refineries up and running.
AspenONE software is an American product which enables process industry companies to optimize their engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain operations, giving AspenTech customers the benefit to achieve, increase capacity, improve margins, reduce costs, become more energy efficient, and achieve excellence in operational goals.
Group General Manager, Engineering and Technology Division of the NNPC, Engr. Farouk Sa’id, made this disclosure during a four-day AspenOne Engineering Software awareness workshop at the NNPC Towers in Abuja.
Represented by the General Manager, Capital Projects, Dr Adewale Ajayi, Mr Sa’id stated that the software would go a long way in stabilizing and optimizing the operations of the Corporation in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors.
“The collaboration between NNPC and ApenOne Technology is geared towards exposing our engineers to the vast engineering processes in AspenOne Engineering Software and the knowledge would optimize the refineries and all the other Corporate Service Units (CSUs) and Autonomous Business Units (ABUs) of the Corporation,” Mr Sa’id noted.
He said the software was made up of 66 modules, adding that it offers engineering project process design, simulation, trouble shouting, optimization, and project management which when applied to the processes of the NNPC would enable profit maximization.
Participants at the workshop, drawn from the Corporation’s subsidiaries, were urged to take advantage of the session to develop their engineering capacity and ensure high utilization of the software for the benefit of the Corporation.
On his part, representative of AspenOne Technology and Software Licensor, Julian Cazenave, said his firm was focused on process engineering and optimization, stressing that most of the leading global Oil and Gas Companies use the software for their operations.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) has commended the NNPC for a seamless supply of petroleum products during the last Yuletide and New Year festive period.
The Committee, in an interactive session with top management of the agency in Abuja, said that for the first time in recent memory, the Yuletide and the New Year were celebrated without fuel queues.
The Committee, which has Mr Joseph Akinlaja as Chairman, urged NNPC Management to continue to work hard and ensure uniformity in prices of petroleum products, particularly in the northern part of the country.
“This interactive session would be a continuous one to update relevant industry stakeholders on the development in the industry”, the Chairman said.
Speaking at the session, NNPC GMD, Dr Maikanti Baru, who was represented by the Chief Operating Officer, COO, Downstream, Mr Henry Ikem-Obih, thanked members of the House Committee for their support to the corporation, assuring it that relevant government agencies would be alerted to take appropriate actions on the disparity noticed in products prices in parts of the country.
Dr Baru told the Committee that NNPC would continue to cooperate with it in respect of its oversight functions, among others.
Adedapo Adesanya