Nigeria Can Cut Oil Costs with Locally Formulated Chemicals

Nigeria's oil production costs are among the highest in the OPEC+ group, averaging around $40 per barrel. Godswill Chidiebere Agomuo, a Nigerian chemical engineer and Technical Manager at Pacegate Energy & Resources Ltd (PEARL), believes that locally formulated production chemicals could help reduce these costs.

Agomuo, who has over two decades of experience in production chemistry, argued that the continued reliance on imported specialty production chemicals limits indigenous technical capacity in the petroleum industry. He emphasized the importance of developing local formulation capability to make production chemicals more cost-effective and readily available to operators.

The engineer noted that locally produced chemicals can be modified to meet changing requirements of individual oilfields and that they could become more cost-effective by reducing chemical injection requirements. Agomuo also highlighted the need for a deeper form of local content, moving beyond the procurement of locally supplied goods and services to the development of indigenous technology and specialized expertise.