Industrial hazards have long-lasting effect on lives, national development – Oil expert
Mr Chidi Efobi is a mechanical engineer by training, with a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu state, obtained in 1985. After graduation he had a stint in the steel sector before going into the oil industry.
In this interview with DOOSUUR IWAMBE, Efobi talks about his new book, Petroleum Process Safety’ and the consequences and cost implication of industrial hazard on environment, economy and national development
What informed the idea of writing the book ‘Petroleum Process Safety’?
I wrote the book as a way of knowledge transfer. The motivation is to give back to the society. In the course of my career, I learnt a lot of things (most of them informally). Process safety is largely under-explored in our society.
This book is meant to introduce the concept of process safety in very simple English devoid of technical jargons and in a concise form. In other words, it is a compendium of all I learnt (formally and informally) on the subject served on a platter of gold.
What are the consequences and cost implication of industrial hazard on environment, economy and national development?
Industrial hazards have complex and long-lasting consequences on lives, environment, assets and national development, if not well managed. Hazards in a simple process facility in a plot of, say, 100m X 50 m is akin to a cage holding 1500 hungry lions.
If those hazards are not effectively controlled, they have the same consequences of letting lose 1500 hungry lions in a society. I leave you to imagine the consequences of 1500 hungry lions let loose in a town like Abuja. Extrapolate that in a city like Lagos that has thousands of such facilities scattered all over the city.
Are there policies in place to ensure petroleum process safety especially in Independent Oil Companies (IOC’s)?
In Nigeria, we do not have enough policies, laws and regulations to regulate process safety. The IOCs have more stringent policies and procedures that the Nation. Hence, it is the tail that is wagging the dog rather than the other way round.
Would you say victims of industrial hazards are well compensated?
Victims of industrial hazards rarely get compensation in our country and when they do, they are very meagre. There are laws that govern these but these are not updated. Hence the compensation packages are meaningless in today’s circumstances.
If no, what would you propose to change the narrative?
The only way to change the narrative is to engage professionals in the review of safety laws and regulations. We need to engage professionals that have international exposure to review and tighten these regulations.
When done properly, it has the potential to create millions of jobs, increase productivity, give a big lift to national development and bring some semblance of sanity in our society. I am sorry to say that we are light years behind civilized societies in this aspect.
Over the years, Nigeria oil sector has been beset by a multitude of problems, notably decreased crude production, oil theft and pipeline vandalism. What measures do you advise govt to put in place to overcome some of these challenges?
Decrease in crude production is caused by lack of investments due to decrease in profit. To overcome that we need to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill that is agreeable to all stakeholders (local communities, investors, state/federal gov). The government also needs to tackle security challenges.
Oil theft and pipeline vandalism can be tackled with a carrot and stick approach. Tackle security challenges, and ensure good governance. When there is good governance that affects people’s lives positively, these types of crimes will gradually go down.
Oil spill has continued to be a major challenge however, other oil rich countries have found ways of managing the situation. What measures would you propose as a way forward for Nigeria?
The answer to this question is embedded in question 7. In addition, we need to tighten laws that regulate fines on oil spill and enforce them effectively.
Energy transition has been a burning issue on the table. Do you believe Nigeria is ready to take that leap?
Nigeria has the wherewithal to take the leap. We only need wisdom of the political leaders, the political will and patriotism to take the right steps. Hydrocarbon is not going entirely extinct in the near future but changing direction in the transition.
We need to follow or get leaders who know the right direction to go. There are so many options being explored now. There are solar, hydrocarbon gas, hydrogen, wind, nuclear options etc. We are blessed with all these.
If yes, what processes must Nigeria adopt to ease her transition?
The process is to put the right pegs in the right holes, both in political and policy formulation leadership.
With a deficit in infrastructure, can Nigeria deliver on its mandate to make gas the next destination?
Infrastructure is the backbone of modern civilization. We cannot even develop if we continue to have deficit in infrastructure.
In your opinion, what would you consider as merits and demerits to look out for as the country strives to transit?
The world is in motion now, to transit. In my opinion, this is not time to look for demerits. We should be looking out for opportunities and they abound.
The federal government has given assurances of passing the PIB into law before the end of June, do you think it will finally scale through all the hurdles?
PIB may scale through, legally. But the question will be whether or not it delivers the goods. As long as it does not meet the expectation of all stakeholders it is meaningless.
The key stakeholders here should be investors and local communities where oil is produced. They should be listened to and their views taken into consideration.
Nigeria is capable of producing 3 million barrels per day but we are presently doing less than half of that. And time is running out. We need to factor time and opportunity being lost to get a bill that delivers the goods as quickly as possible.
Can you give us a highlight of what you expected the Bill to address holistically?
The bill should address the interest of investors, local communities, oil producing states and the Nation, in that order.
Apart from Engineers and engineering students, what message do you have in the book that Nigerians can benefit from?
The book is of benefit, not only to engineers and engineering students, but also to executives and policy makers in the petroleum industry.
