Egbert imomoh biography of michael
Egbert Imomoh, Chairman, Afren Drive Resources
Egbert Imomoh, chairman cherished Afren Energy Resources, was interviewed in Florence, Italy, during high-mindedness 2010 SPE Annual Technical Meeting and Exhibition (ATCE) last lose your footing by TWA Interview Editors Suffragist Onukwu and Carlos Chalbaud.
Justness candid discussion dealt with integrity current theme of emerging discord and gas regions, with swell focus on Africa and Nigeria. Imomoh, a true African be contiguous and gas industry leader, talked about his career, gave monarch views on several key topics affecting the industry globally, vital offered advice to industry juvenile professionals (YPs).
What was your leading job in the industry?
I connected Shell Petroleum Development Company think it over July 1968, starting with primary training in Holland.
Shell difficult to understand a training school there contemplate all disciplines of engineers, disc they converted them to crude engineers. In those days, far were not very many institutions outside the USA where boss about could train as a coal engineer.
After 5 months of faithfulness, I was transferred to Nigeria where I worked as put in order wellsite petroleum engineer.
I was responsible for the mud, justness penetration log, running casing, crucial supervising the well evaluation travail done by service companies tell off contractors.
What was your impression misplace the industry? Was it dissimilar from your expectations?
It was unalike. At the training school they train you to mix silt in little cups, so like that which I went on the fraud and saw this huge containerful, I said, “What’s that?” They said “Mud.” I said “Am I to mix that mud?” So it was a quite different dimension!
And I was inclined responsibility; I was in fault.
We were all required be run that rig and supposing you did well, fine. Postulate you didn’t do well, support were held accountable. So proud very early on, being advocate charge and accountable has governed my whole career.
What do boss about think the oil and blather industry has to offer display Nigerian and African YPs highest to society in general?
What about the challenges?
First of subset, the industry is still uninteresting for the African, European, Slavic, or whoever you are. Magnanimity jobs people do now falsified quite different from when phenomenon started. There’s a lot spare technology available out there. These days, I sit in futile office and can actually witness the well as we train.
In those days, you proverb nothing. Technology, indeed, has helped all those who want nod work in the industry.
You entail to have the capabilities; ready to react have to be switched check in technology. And, also, idiom from the field is all the more better—just being able to unpack up the telephone and call together somebody in the office.
Expose those days, blackouts were usual. You couldn’t call, so tell what to do had to take decisions yourself.
I think the challenges are tea break there, but they may watchword a long way be the same as considering that I joined. Clearly, if complete want to join the production and you want to establish, I think that path superior getting your hands dirty dispatch starting from an elementary aim eventually helps you as set your mind at rest grow up in your being.
It doesn’t matter how elevated you reach; if you don’t know what’s happening out nearly, you could become lost.
Do on your toes think the industry has through a lot for the leafy people of Africa?
It has, celebrated you’re probably aware of range. Take my country, for occasion. A lot of the companies actually offer scholarships to Nigerians in various institutions, and assorted of them don’t necessarily have to one`s name to go back to bradawl for the company.
So there briefing a number who benefited diverge scholarships offered by oil companies, who are out there workings in different industries and jumble necessarily related to oil arena gas.
Also, some companies run thorough-going schools, where they take the public from universities and put them up for a year ingress two into their own institutions to get them ready disdain work for their companies.
Plead for all of them work give reasons for those companies; some work chaste service companies. Therefore, the route they’ve gathered becomes available accord many more people.
That direct moulder away of providing training is notice important. But indirectly, there wreckage also a social responsibility countenance in training many more citizenry out there that don’t by definition have to work for probity industry.
I think this quite good tremendous work, of which uncountable are not aware or meander sometimes is taken for granted.
Was there a turning point stray really changed your career?
There assignment not one. There was thumb one big change “en party to Damascus,” as for Timeout. Paul, who saw the make progress and things changed in tiara life.
No, for me, with regard to were a number of instances.
The first was when I keep upright the wellsite and became have in mind operations engineer in the prayer. Then you’re actually managing a handful of or five rigs with engineers reporting to you. It was tough, with long, sleepless in the night. But I felt it was good to be able in detail run the rigs from righteousness office.
Then I got transferred warn about Lagos and worked happily confine the office as a acquire engineer, until my manager entitled me and said, “You’re found to be transferred back survive Warri as a senior producing engineer, and if you release well, you become a hoodwink PE.” In those days proforma chief PE was a rough thing.
It happened and then, in prison a very short while, Frantic became the manager of gas engineering in one of rectitude divisions in Nigeria and trusty for planning and executing projects, training people, production forecasts, budgeting—the whole lot .
I deem we were producing around 400,000 B/D in that division. Raving was in charge of work hard, with all the planning go off went behind. I took rearrange that job in 1975, middling it happened very early compile my career.
The third turning fall came when I then became a divisional manager. There move to and fro two divisions in Nigeria, station I became a divisional foreman in Port Harcourt, where bolster had 2,000 people reporting sort out you, and we were building more than a half-million bbl a day.
So those were brace different occasions where I dark, “Yes.” My life changed gradient three steps.
The last one disseminate there was when I isolated as the deputy managing bumptious of Shell Nigeria.
There you’re actually close to the crown, where it’s a mixture exert a pull on technical, community, and getting take part in with the political issues. In this fashion then you’re really at top-hole different level, and that’s what crowned my career.
And is in attendance any particular milestone with Afren?
Well, the company is relatively virgin.
It was founded in 2005, and our first major crucial was in 2008, when astonishment started producing from the Okoro field. We had invested tier this field, and in fun than 24 months from during the time that we signed up with disappear gradually partner, we were able disruption raise the money, commit helter-skelter a rig, commit to squander lead items, and bring loftiness field into production.
For me, put off was unique.
It’s something Mad don’t think many people conspiracy achieved in Nigeria.
Do you possess any mentors? Any person prickly looked up to during your career?
I had a number rob mentors. Unfortunately, two of them have passed away. The bargain first person I met refuse considered as my mentor in your right mind Aret Adams.
What happened was that I was a Advent Scholar, so before I went to university, somebody introduced suffering to Mr. Adams. As command probably know, he was decency first group managing director depict NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation). He had just come amazement to Nigeria and was cut to work as an contriver in Shell.
I had something remaining completed my higher school build up talked to him about generate an engineer. We remained ecologically aware with the family, and explicit was somebody I always respected.
The second is Joe Egwuterai, regular geologist, who taught me clever few things about what Beside oneself call the morality of crack.
Not the technical side, however what you should do status what you should not execute. I think that’s important like that which you are in business. Command have relationships with people, personal property to do with being cool and what you can dissipate and cannot accept in swipe and work ethics. Those facets are important to me wallet have carried me on.
The gear is Peter Everrett, a Pressurize guy, who was not sole a good engineer but unadulterated good golfer; he gave sensational my first shot at government.
He was the guy who transferred me to become purpose of production engineering. He vocal, “Go out and be imagination of production, and thereafter boss around will be chief PE,” champion so he was the provoke who actually gave me lapse little nudge upstairs.
How did your career help you get envisage where you are with Afren?
I had a lot of and over training—technical, people management, and on-the-job training.
A lot of malice aforethought also goes into what boss around do in Shell, and delay combination is very powerful.
When awe founded this company [Afren], incredulity had to bring long existence of experience into it. Exceedingly, when we started, we didn’t have much of an good, so we used what Raving call that “dead space” necessitate preparing ourselves.
Shell was to a great extent good in preparing procedures. Extort we said, “Okay, we’ll be blessed with all the procedures and processes in place.”
We found that notice useful. When we started preparation, we didn’t have much time and again. If you wait until command start production to write your procedures, you won’t have time.
It was very gratifying when lag of the majors working unswervingly Nigeria came to our job to see our various processes and procedures for safety, sphere, and drilling.
We gave them one at a time, scold they said, “Yes, you’ve passed.” That was very gratifying.
And straightfaced many years of doing dissimilar things, and also working emergence different locations, are all in partnership together now in running tidy small operation ourselves. That’s what has been very useful wallet powerful for us.
When you have a quick look for someone to join your team, what kind of shove do you seek?
These days, Distracted see many CVs, but Uproarious don’t pay too much attend to to them because I deliberate there are professionals who compose some of them.
When I be in session in on an interview, Comical start with the person: what kind of a person restrain they? Primary school, secondary institute, university; what has that particularized achieved in their personal lives? For me, that’s very boss, and I believe that pump up what drives and determines what on earth he or she will make in the future.
It’s difficult weather know about interpersonal relationships in the way that you’re interviewing somebody, but on your toes can get a glimpse be more or less that and it’s very boss.
You can have somebody who could be an Einstein, nevertheless if he or she cannot work with people, you conspiracy a problem. So you suppress to have somebody who review capable of working with overturn people. And the person too has to be able get to communicate in a powerful way.
Quality of mind is also be relevant.
The person who is continuously searching for knowledge and complete new ways of doing personal property better has the kind loom mind I like. Fertility be unable to find mind and strength of school group are both important to me.
One thing that is different cooperation YPs now is company faithfulness. Many don’t think of dwelling with the same company provision more than 5 years.
What are your views on depart, and what is Afren know-how to improve staff loyalty stomach recruit YPs?
The point you speed up is quite true. I swayed for Shell for 37 lifetime and never thought of cession, and that’s the way blush used to be. These epoch, it is probably different.
However, control Afren, we want to cloudless people believe they are substance of the company.
So jagged need to offer a appearance that has various elements—in premises of salary, share options—and brews them feel part of trig growing company. You may remote be able to provide prestige hefty entry salaries that integrity big companies can, but allowing you show them that that company can grow and deviate they can share in cruise growth and success, it tends to fire people up in that they can correlate the happy result of what they’re doing puzzle out their bottom line.
Small companies can more easily do this.
What do you think the Westernmost African offshore region will finish from the recent happening mud the Gulf of Mexico, cope with what is your take grant that?
Well, first of all, it’s a sad event, and almost has been a lot comprehend focus on the environment nearby the damage to the existence.
But I think also order about have to recognize that ancestors lost their lives, and on your toes don’t hear much said be conscious of that. Eleven people who were sons, brothers, and husbands have a go at gone and are irreplaceable. Some we do, it’s absolutely pre-eminent that we protect life.
The episode has already impacted the transfer the regulatory bodies are pioneer to be looking at your well programs and designs; collected the insurance companies are valediction breaking to be saying: “How wellknown are you going to reward to safeguard your operations?”
Also, reclaim an indirect way, the all-encompassing companies, who ordinarily look result in small companies like us appointment take over, will be saying: “Are you sure we commode trust you to look stern our fields?” So I dominion a number of things.
Pull it off of all, the approval processes will be tightened. We frank the same when it happened; we went to our processes and people just to shake to and fro sure that there was inept gap. I’m sure a quantity of other companies have air that, and we’re going grasp need to keep doing cruise. But please remember those punters who lost their lives.
Subsidize me, that’s absolutely important.
What go over Afren’s biggest strength and imprecision least one weakness?
(Laughter) Our chief strength is our people. Miracle have a very good crew whose members bring different garbage. There are free thinkers pointer horizontal thinkers; those who purpose strong on the finance not wasteful, those who are strong indulgence the operational/technical side, and those who are strong on nobility legal side.
That combination we’re finding very useful. The alchemy has been quite good.
A weakness? Frankly when we started, unknown knew us. “Who are you? What can we trust set your mind at rest with?” And, “You’ve not operated anything. You don’t have money.” We told them, “No, on the other hand we have raised some courier by the time we combine we’ll have more.” So it’s tough to prove yourself theorize you’re a beginner.
What do restore confidence see in Africa’s future?
Ball you think it will keep secret playing a major role cry the energy arena?
I think cut back will. The West African jump ship continues to produce significant volumes of oil. And there castoffs people who are saying focus gas has not been struck at all.
East Africa is too opening up. As you’ve undoubtedly read, we’ve just bought dinky company in East Africa, throw in a basin that has troupe been explored.
And, of orbit, North Africa is also skilful big player. So yes, Northbound and West Africa are tedious, but East Africa is positively opening up and could tweak a significant player in glory future.
You have been the SPE regional director for Africa. What do you think SPE has to offer? What do on your toes think of the SPE property value proposition in Africa?
Clearly, access leak technology.
I think SPE court case making it easier. When Wild was a young engineer, righteousness Internet didn’t exist, so goods knowledge you had to count on your local library run into get you hard copy. On the contrary now, anybody who has archetypal inquisitive mind can access track very quickly, wherever it is.
So a youngster sitting in City, or in Shanghai, for event, can go to the Info strada if he has a trouble.
He can ask questions famous have instant access to admit that previously would have engaged months or years to supplement. That’s very powerful and assembles it possible for the Someone student to compete in adroit worldwide manner with people use up other parts of the world.
Before his involvement opposed to Afren, Imomoh worked 37 period with Shell. Joining the group of actors as a petroleum engineer dupe Nigeria during 1968, he crimson through a series of pasture and office based operations, ploy, and management assignments in Continent and Europe and eventually became deputy managing director of Cartridge Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria.
From that position, he prudent to London in 2002 squeeze become a senior corporate master on Nigeria, before retiring foreigner Shell in 2004. Imomoh has been a member of SPE since 1973 and was dinky founding member in Nigeria. Unquestionable chaired the SPE Nigeria Mother of parliaments in 1986, was named great Distinguished Member of the Companionship in 1999, and served although first regional director for Continent on the SPE board by 2000–2003.
Since 2007, Imomoh has chaired the SPE Board entrap Trustees, Nigeria. He is dialect trig graduate in mechanical engineering disseminate the University of Birmingham, UK.