A NIGERIAN Petroleum Engineer, Mr. Chinedu Onyeizu, has developed a three node policy and a technology-based model aimed at addressing the challenges of fuel supply in Nigeria, by empowering Nigerians and the authorities with the capacity to track supply across all the downstream petroleum sector value chain.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja, Onyeizu, a graduate student of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, said the model will help address Nigeria’s fuel challenges in one year. He also said the model will empower the authorities to allocate and monitor fuel supply across all the supply chain in real-time, using sophisticated computer packages as well as enabling Nigerians to track fuel supply from depots, through transport facilities to petrol stations. He said the three-node model focuses on leveraging the existing Joint Venture, JV, and independent partnership agreements to make refined products abundant and affordable to Nigerian consumers.
He said the strategy will require unbundling the downstream sector into three strategic nodes, namely: Downstream-Upstream node, Downstream-Midstream node and Downstream-Downstream node. He said: “The Three-node model is policy based and its critical enablers include: locating new refineries at operational bases of producing companies; collaborating with International oil companies and indigenous producers to operate the refineries while NNPC positions itself as a non-operating partner with oversight functions. “NNPC will provide 100 per cent funding for the construction of these refineries; align with the producers to allocate a reasonable quota of crude as constant feed to the refineries; leverage existing ship berthing facilities in operational bases of producers to load refined products. It will also work closely with the association of petroleum products marketers to distribute efficiently; leverage existing tank farms and fuel stations across the country to ensure products reach consumers.” Real-time monitoring He added that the model has a technology application component, ‘Petrol-Solve 1.3’ that would help in capturing and transforming in-context data into actionable insights.
He explained that the use of the technology will introduce real-time monitoring of fuel volumes and for product distribution network management from point of vessel loading to end-point filling stations. He added: “We are also introducing a functionality that will enable real-time prediction and management of related events by exception.” Onyeizu further argued that the three-node model approach to solving the fuel crisis situation in Nigeria will leverage system and predictive analytics to improve management of fuel product refining and distribution across the country. To this end, he expressed willingness to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, to provide extensive workflow models and design and also make presentations on the workability of the 3-node approach.