Dr. Victor Ekpeyong, CEO Kenyon International West Africa Limited
Ten years ago Kenyon International West Africa Limited, was birthed through the vision of Dr. Victor Ekpeyong, founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO); who saw the need to solve critical challenges in Nigeria’s energy industry using indigenous expertise and innovation. From that bold step Kenyon has grown into a company that stood up in front line of national challenges turned obstacles into opportunities, contributed meaningfully into the country’s economy and its people.
The 10th anniversary celebration was a decade long journey of resilience, innovation and impact. It belongs to every partner, clients, regulators, professional bodies and supporters who believed in the company including its employees, past and present who turned their dedication in building Kenyon, the host communities, representatives of government, academia and international partners.
As an oil and gas company, Kenyon employs, empowers and enhances Nigerians. It has made impact in Nigeria oil and gas industry.
Dr. Ekpeyong is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), among other notable industry associations.
As part of the 10th anniversary of the company, he spoke to journalists in Lagos on sundry issues bothering the oil sector.
Excerpts:
You are excited over what is happening today, what makes it more significant to you?
It is my pleasure to have all of you here this evening; it is a remarkable day in my life as Kenyon International. Kenyon International is a company I started in 2015. It calls for celebration and is a company I started with my wife and others and today we are ten years thriving as a company. It is a day worthy of celebration because of what the company has rendered to oil and gas services in Nigeria. It is a day to celebrate because Nigeria is undergoing transition in the industry. In the oil downside, there was a time that the oil production in Nigeria was low but today the country produces more that 1.5 million barrels still going upward and Kenyon International is part of that contribution.
We are glad today that Nigeria is making waves in the oil and gas industry. In time past the disparity between dollars and naira was not stable. Why is it stable today, because there is a constant output as the country is experiencing a surge in terms of oil production which calls for celebration that a company that was started in 2015 is a critical component to Nigeria’s oil production. This is why we celebrate that in ten years, we have made a remarkable stride in the industry.
In the next ten years, what is your projection like?
First of all, we thank God for the first ten years and we want to hand over the next ten years to God. We are seeing what is going on globally with a lot of calls for decarbonisation, a lot of push for transition and in the next ten years, we are going to innovate, work with other companies to see how to bring innovation into the Nigerian oil and gas industry. In the next ten years, we will see how will contribute to make sure we are part and parcel of the company that is going to boost production in Nigeria.
In the next ten years, we see how we should be part of the company with innovation to bring back our wells that are dead and cannot evacuate. There are lots of wells that have been drilled, but we don’t have means of evacuation. Most of them the pipelines have been vandalised. In the next ten years, we are going to bring pipelines that are flexible, quick from the well head to the flow station. Instead of spending time to bring this oil back.
In the next ten years, we see what Kenyon can do to boost Nigeria oil production to where it is today to over 2 million or 3 million barrels per day because refineries are springing up and we want to enjoy the complete value chain of hydrocarbon and petroleum. For the past decade, we have been a country that export hydrocarbon. Look at what is happening today that Dangote Refinery is processing hydrocarbon and from there we have by-products of petroleum boosting Nigeria’s economy. In the next ten years is all about innovation to produce more oil because we need more refineries. Nigeria should not only be a consuming nation, but a country that extract, process and consume. We have been a consumption country for a long time.
Innovation that will make us to be part of a processing nation and Kenyon will see how to play in that regard.
Your focus is in oil services; there are lots of major contracts ongoing in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria. For instance, Bonga North, TotalEnergies among other major projects. Is Kenyon involved in any of these projects?
In terms of oil and gas, there are lots of projects that people are involved in the oil industry. Kenyon takes part in providing supply and drilling support of Christmas tree and well intervention. Evacuation and laying of pipelines to flow station are also part of Kenyon’s job. Most of these projects are on tender stage and when Kenyon wins and becomes part of the projects, it will let the public know.
As part of your future plans, are you going to acquire or produce assets via national bid rounds?
If opportunity comes in the future, as a successful company in the Nigeria oil and gas industry, we wish to be part of operators. We will be part of it and ensures that the entire value chain of hydrocarbon is being utilized in-country. We lack energy and the country has a lot of gas. If the gas is drilled, produced, processed, it can be used for energy generation and distribution. This gives opportunity for industrialisation, why we are not industrialised is lack of constant and affordable energy, but when things are in place, it gives room for industrialisation. If we have opportunity to be involved in any project, we will take it with open arms.
In onshore Niger Delta, indigenous companies are displacing multinational service providers like Schlumberger and others. Kenyon and other indigenous companies assets are brown and most of them are depleting. Is Kenyon involved in acquiring advanced technology?
Kenyon plays a lot in the brown field sector. Most of its projects are in the brown field. Brown field are assets that have been produced for many years and some of these assets are under divestment and we play a lot in that space. We cannot overemphasise technology. We leverage on modern technology. There is no monopoly of technology and there are companies that specialise on technology and if any company cannot afford, it should go ahead to possess and deploy them.
Kenyon deploys local and foreign made technology to boost Nigeria oil production in the brown field. It has taken opportunity of divestment and the company is making good use of it.
There is a growing transition in moving from fossil fuel to renewable energy. It has been advocated that Africa and Nigeria should focus on gas for industrialisation. Where do you stand on this?
There is a global push for energy transition but Nigeria is a country with so much deposit of crude. Nigeria had huge abundant of coal in the south east part of the country and it was asked to abandon it for hydrocarbon. Today, countries that have technology on how to extract and process coal, such as India and China, are still using their coal. United States, China and India are still generating electricity from coal; we have it in Nigeria, but were told to abandon it.
Nigeria abandons it to pursue what we do not have control over. What Nigeria needs to do is to maximize and make use of hydrocarbon to industrialise and develop. If the country uses its hydrocarbon to develop the industry, it can think of transition. Why transition? When there is huge hydrocarbon and gas. Nigeria needs to come together to develop technology to see how to extract, process and consume its natural God given resources.
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