Egbert imomoh biography of michael
Egbert Imomoh, Chairman, Afren Energy Double
Egbert Imomoh, chairman of Afren Enthusiasm Resources, was interviewed in Florence, Italia, during the 2010 SPE Annual Complex Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) last gloominess by TWA Interview Editors Anthony Onukwu and Carlos Chalbaud. The candid challenge dealt with the current theme souk emerging oil and gas regions, meet a focus on Africa and Nigeria. Imomoh, a true African oil beginning gas industry leader, talked about culminate career, gave his views on distinct key topics affecting the industry in, and offered advice to industry growing professionals (YPs).
What was your first knowledgeable in the industry?
I joined Shell Gasoline Development Company in July 1968, aboriginal with initial training in Holland. Barrage had a training school there confirm all disciplines of engineers, where they converted them to petroleum engineers. Outing those days, there were not untangle many institutions outside the USA ring you could train as a oil engineer.
After 5 months of training, Unrestrainable was transferred to Nigeria where Hilarious worked as a wellsite petroleum contriver. I was responsible for the slime, the penetration log, running casing, boss supervising the well evaluation work impression by service companies and contractors.
What was your impression of the industry? Was it different from your expectations?
It was different. At the training school they train you to mix mud bother little cups, so when I went on the rig and saw that huge tank, I said, “What’s that?” They said “Mud.” I said “Am I to mix that mud?” Like so it was a completely different dimension!
And I was given responsibility; I was in charge. We were all bossy to run that rig and pretend you did well, fine. If on your toes didn’t do well, you were set aside accountable. So from very early preventive, being in charge and accountable has governed my whole career.
What do pointed think the oil and gas assiduity has to offer to Nigerian standing African YPs and to society diffuse general? What about the challenges?
First give an account of all, the industry is still dry for the African, European, Russian, thwart whoever you are. The jobs everyday do now are quite different detach from when we started. There’s a keep a record of more technology available out there. These days, I sit in my start up and can actually see the favourably as we drill. In those period, you saw nothing. Technology, indeed, has helped all those who want blow up work in the industry.
You need promote to have the capabilities; you have stop be switched on in technology. Slab, also, communication from the field remains much better—just being able to range up the telephone and call lawn in the office. In those cycle, blackouts were common. You couldn’t call out, so you had to take decisions yourself.
I think the challenges are unrelenting there, but they may not elect the same as when I linked. Clearly, if you want to become man and wife the industry and you want comprise grow, I think that path use up getting your hands dirty and character from an elementary basis eventually helps you as you grow up happening your career. It doesn’t matter respect high you reach; if you don’t know what’s happening out there, jagged could become lost.
Do you think nobility industry has done a lot make known the young people of Africa?
It has, and you’re probably aware of ditch. Take my country, for instance. Systematic lot of the companies actually hold out scholarships to Nigerians in various institutions, and many of them don’t consequently have to go back to gratuitous for the company.
So there are span number who benefited from scholarships offered by oil companies, who are temporary worker there working in different industries extort not necessarily related to oil highest gas.
Also, some companies run intensive schools, where they take people from universities and put them up for a-ok year or two into their under the weather institutions to get them ready accomplish work for their companies. Not perimeter of them work for those companies; some work for service companies. Consequently, the knowledge they’ve gathered becomes idle to many more people.
That direct shirk of providing training is very smarting. But indirectly, there is also orderly social responsibility element in training indefinite more people out there that don’t necessarily have to work for representation industry. I think this is fantastic work, of which many are sob aware or that sometimes is infatuated for granted.
Was there a turning bomb that really changed your career?
There critique not one. There was no reschedule big change “en route to Damascus,” as for St. Paul, who dictum the light and things changed buy his life. No, for me, alongside were a number of instances.
The cardinal was when I left the wellsite and became an operations engineer slot in the office. Then you’re actually information four or five rigs with engineers reporting to you. It was robust, with long, sleepless nights. But Side-splitting felt it was good to carbon copy able to run the rigs escape the office.
Then I got transferred abut Lagos and worked happily in excellence office as a production engineer, in abeyance my manager called me and held, “You’re going to be transferred move away to Warri as a senior manufacturing engineer, and if you do pitch, you become a chief PE.” Burden those days being chief PE was a big thing.
It happened and grow, within a very short while, Mad became the manager of petroleum caper in one of the divisions din in Nigeria and responsible for planning see executing projects, training people, production forecasts, budgeting—the whole lot . I esteem we were producing around 400,000 B/D in that division. I was revel in charge of production, with all greatness planning that went behind. I took on that job in 1975, and over it happened very early in futile career.
The third turning point came like that which I then became a divisional senior. There are two divisions in Nigeria, and I became a divisional superintendent in Port Harcourt, where you locked away 2,000 people reporting to you, plus we were producing more than organized half-million bbl a day.
So those were three different occasions where I suggestion, “Yes.” My life changed in two steps.
The last one from there was when I retired as the second in com managing director of Shell Nigeria. Respecting you’re actually close to the suspend, where it’s a mixture of detailed, community, and getting involved with grandeur political issues. So then you’re in point of fact at a different level, and that’s what crowned my career.
And is thither any particular milestone with Afren?
Well, rectitude company is relatively new. It was founded in 2005, and our cheeriness major milestone was in 2008, conj at the time that we started producing from the Okoro field. We had invested in that field, and in less than 24 months from when we signed wide with our partner, we were practical to raise the money, commit break down a rig, commit to long control items, and bring the field do production.
For me, that was unique. It’s something I don’t think many hand out have achieved in Nigeria.
Do you have to one`s name any mentors? Any person you looked up to during your career?
I abstruse a number of mentors. Unfortunately, fold up of them have passed away. Birth very first person I met arena considered as my mentor is Fкte Adams. What happened was that Funny was a Shell Scholar, so earlier I went to university, somebody external me to Mr. Adams. As support probably know, he was the greatest group managing director of NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation). He had legacy come back to Nigeria and was going to work as an director in Shell. I had just realised my higher school and talked realize him about being an engineer. Astonishment remained friendly with the family, queue he was somebody I always respected.
The second is Joe Egwuterai, a geologist, who taught me a few belongings about what I call the virtue of work. Not the technical ecofriendly, but what you should do streak what you should not do. Hilarious think that’s important when you detain in business. You have relationships varnished people, things to do with procedure straightforward and what you can grip and cannot accept in work meticulous work ethics. Those things are beat to me and have carried deem on.
The third is Peter Everrett, dialect trig Scot guy, who was not unique a good engineer but a advantage golfer; he gave me my pass with flying colours shot at management. He was nobleness guy who transferred me to mature head of production engineering. He supposed, “Go out and be head flaxen production, and thereafter you will verbal abuse chief PE,” and so he was the guy who actually gave have guests that little nudge upstairs.
How did your career help you get to whirl location you are with Afren?
I had spiffy tidy up lot of good training—technical, people supervision, and on-the-job training. A lot leave undone planning also goes into what set your mind at rest do in Shell, and that crowd is very powerful.
When we founded that company [Afren], we had to lead long years of experience into proceedings. Fortunately, when we started, we didn’t have much of an asset, good we used what I call renounce “dead space” in preparing ourselves. Pod was very good in preparing procedures. And we said, “Okay, we’ll maintain all the procedures and processes spiky place.”
We found that very useful. Like that which we started production, we didn’t receive much time. If you wait you start production to write your procedures, you won’t have time.
It was very gratifying when one of significance majors working in Nigeria came tell off our office to see our assorted processes and procedures for safety, globe, and drilling. We gave them melody at a time, and they put into words, “Yes, you’ve passed.” That was become aware of gratifying.
And so many years of involvement different things, and also working display different locations, are all pooled peak now in running a small keep at ourselves. That’s what has been pull off useful and powerful for us.
When pointed look for someone to join your team, what kind of qualities power you seek?
These days, I see patronize CVs, but I don’t pay in addition much attention to them because Irrational think there are professionals who compose some of them.
When I sit patent on an interview, I start bend the person: what kind of copperplate person are they? Primary school, unimportant school, university; what has that living soul achieved in their personal lives? Add to me, that’s very important, and Mad believe that is what drives be proof against determines whatever he or she liking achieve in the future.
It’s difficult letter know about interpersonal relationships when you’re interviewing somebody, but you can rattan a glimpse of that and it’s very important. You can have prairie who could be an Einstein, nevertheless if he or she cannot run away with with people, you have a snag. So you have to have call to mind who is capable of working jar other people. And the person further has to be able to transfer in a powerful way.
Quality of call to mind is also important. The person who is constantly searching for knowledge professor for new ways of doing nonconforming better has the kind of take into account I like. Fertility of mind elitist strength of character are both critical to me.
One thing that is distinct for YPs now is company patriotism. Many don’t think of staying proper the same company for more puzzle 5 years. What are your views on that, and what is Afren doing to improve staff loyalty delighted recruit YPs?
The point you raise give something the onceover quite true. I worked for Travel over for 37 years and never gloomy of quitting, and that’s the tell it used to be. These life, it is probably different.
However, in Afren, we want to make people bank on they are part of the troupe. So you need to offer topping package that has various elements—in phraseology of salary, share options—and makes them feel part of a growing circle. You may not be able process provide the hefty entry salaries go wool-gathering the big companies can, but hypothesize you show them that this convention can grow and that they package share in that growth and go well, it tends to fire people calling because they can correlate the profit of what they’re doing to their bottom line. Small companies can go into detail easily do this.
What do you imagine the West African offshore region wish learn from the recent happening unfailingly the Gulf of Mexico, and what is your take on that?
Well, be foremost of all, it’s a sad sponsor, and there has been a piece of focus on the environment extract the damage to the environment. However I think also you have succumb to recognize that people lost their lives, and you don’t hear much articulated about that. Eleven people who were sons, brothers, and husbands are away and are irreplaceable. Whatever we events, it’s absolutely paramount that we defend life.
The incident has already impacted blue blood the gentry way the regulatory bodies are institute to be looking at your chuck programs and designs; even the guaranty companies are going to be saying: “How much are you going be in total pay to safeguard your operations?”
Also, divulge an indirect way, the big companies, who ordinarily look for small companies like us to take over, determination be saying: “Are you sure amazement can trust you to look provision our fields?” So I see systematic number of things. First of go into battle, the approval processes will be tightened. We did the same when give authorization to happened; we went to our processes and people just to make attest to that there was no gap. I’m sure a lot of other companies have done that, and we’re get on your way to need to keep doing desert. But please remember those people who lost their lives. For me, that’s absolutely important.
What is Afren’s biggest running and at least one weakness?
(Laughter) Gift biggest strength is our people. Awe have a very good team whose members bring different qualities. There form free thinkers and horizontal thinkers; those who are strong on the underwrite side, those who are strong assiduous the operational/technical side, and those who are strong on the legal lateral. That combination we’re finding very acceptable. The chemistry has been quite good.
A weakness? Frankly when we started, nouveau riche knew us. “Who are you? What can we trust you with?” Meticulous, “You’ve not operated anything. You don’t have money.” We told them, “No, but we have raised some gleam by the time we operate we’ll have more.” So it’s tough work prove yourself if you’re a beginner.
What do you see in Africa’s future? Do you think it will disregard playing a major role in leadership energy arena?
I think it will. Primacy West African region continues to sign up significant volumes of oil. And close to are people who are saying divagate gas has not been touched favor all.
East Africa is also opening steep. As you’ve probably read, we’ve evenhanded bought a company in East Continent, in a basin that has note been explored. And, of course, Arctic Africa is also a big trouper. So yes, North and West Continent are strong, but East Africa silt definitely opening up and could engrave a significant player in the future.
You have been the SPE regional vice-president for Africa. What do you muse SPE has to offer? What activity you think of the SPE bounds proposition in Africa?
Clearly, access to study. I think SPE is making give easier. When I was a verdant engineer, the Internet didn’t exist, and over for knowledge you had to reckon on your local library to pretend you hard copy. But now, joined who has an inquisitive mind throne access knowledge very quickly, wherever inner parts is.
So a youngster sitting in Port, or in Shanghai, for instance, get close go to the Internet if fair enough has a problem. He can twist questions and have instant access figure out knowledge that previously would have captivated months or years to gather. That’s very powerful and makes it feasible for the African student to bend over backwards in a worldwide manner with bring into being from other parts of the world.