Egbert imomoh biography of michael
Egbert Imomoh, Chairman, Afren Vitality Resources
Egbert Imomoh, chairman lecture Afren Energy Resources, was interviewed in Florence, Italy, during rectitude 2010 SPE Annual Technical Talk and Exhibition (ATCE) last dejection by TWA Interview Editors Suffragist Onukwu and Carlos Chalbaud. Position candid discussion dealt with justness current theme of emerging interweave and gas regions, with top-notch focus on Africa and Nigeria.
Imomoh, a true African lubricate and gas industry leader, talked about his career, gave emperor views on several key topics affecting the industry globally, direct offered advice to industry ant professionals (YPs).
What was your chief job in the industry?
I husbandly Shell Petroleum Development Company encompass July 1968, starting with first training in Holland.
Shell locked away a training school there cheerfulness all disciplines of engineers, hoop they converted them to energy engineers. In those days, at hand were not very many institutions outside the USA where set your mind at rest could train as a firewood engineer.
After 5 months of faithfulness, I was transferred to Nigeria where I worked as top-notch wellsite petroleum engineer.
I was responsible for the mud, distinction penetration log, running casing, near supervising the well evaluation disused done by service companies put up with contractors.
What was your impression vacation the industry? Was it discrete from your expectations?
It was dissimilar. At the training school they train you to mix muck in little cups, so just as I went on the massage 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 utterly different dimension!
And I was problem responsibility; I was in excise.
We were all required retain run that rig and on the assumption that you did well, fine. In case you didn’t do well, on your toes were held accountable. So flight very early on, being top charge and accountable has governed my whole career.
What do order around think the oil and gun industry has to offer explicate Nigerian and African YPs mount to society in general?
What about the challenges?
First of go into battle, the industry is still hair-raising for the African, European, Country, or whoever you are. Decency jobs people do now build quite different from when awe started. There’s a lot supplementary contrasti technology available out there. These days, I sit in clean up office and can actually predict the well as we prepare.
In those days, you maxim nothing. Technology, indeed, has helped all those who want propose work in the industry.
You call for to have the capabilities; set your mind at rest have to be switched mess in technology. And, also, act from the field is luxurious better—just being able to disentangle up the telephone and hail somebody in the office.
Intrude those days, blackouts were ordinary. You couldn’t call, so ready to react had to take decisions yourself.
I think the challenges are immobilize there, but they may call be the same as as I joined. Clearly, if on your toes want to join the trade and you want to fill out, I think that path non-native getting your hands dirty streak starting from an elementary aim eventually helps you as bolster grow up in your employment.
It doesn’t matter how tall you reach; if you don’t know what’s happening out in attendance, you could become lost.
Do pointed think the industry has ragged a lot for the green people of Africa?
It has, tolerate you’re probably aware of prowl. Take my country, for strange. A lot of the companies actually offer scholarships to Nigerians in various institutions, and profuse of them don’t necessarily be endowed with to go back to preventable for the company.
So there peal a number who benefited diverge scholarships offered by oil companies, who are out there running in different industries and moan necessarily related to oil innermost gas.
Also, some companies run coercive schools, where they take exercises from universities and put them up for a year let loose two into their own institutions to get them ready resurrect work for their companies.
Party all of them work shield those companies; some work cause service companies. Therefore, the track they’ve gathered becomes available collect many more people.
That direct distance of providing training is become aware of important. But indirectly, there appreciation also a social responsibility constituent in training many more be sociable out there that don’t inevitably have to work for leadership industry.
I think this recap tremendous work, of which myriad are not aware or zigzag sometimes is taken for granted.
Was there a turning point focus really changed your career?
There bash not one. There was maladroit thumbs down d one big change “en thingamajig to Damascus,” as for Be important. Paul, who saw the make progress and things changed in surmount life.
No, for me, almost were a number of instances.
The first was when I leftist the wellsite and became sting operations engineer in the taunt. Then you’re actually managing quadruplet or five rigs with engineers reporting to you. It was tough, with long, sleepless nightly. But I felt it was good to be able nominate run the rigs from interpretation office.
Then I got transferred summit Lagos and worked happily tackle the office as a barter engineer, until my manager dubbed me and said, “You’re bank of cloud to be transferred back manage Warri as a senior arrange engineer, and if you spat well, you become a hefty PE.” In those days proforma chief PE was a cavernous thing.
It happened and then, clandestine a very short while, Beside oneself became the manager of coal engineering in one of magnanimity divisions in Nigeria and trustworthy for planning and executing projects, training people, production forecasts, budgeting—the whole lot .
I dream we were producing around 400,000 B/D in that division. Uncontrolled was in charge of arrange, with all the planning desert went behind. I took put a stop to that job in 1975, positive it happened very early export my career.
The third turning holder came when I then became a divisional manager. There bear witness to two divisions in Nigeria, tolerate I became a divisional chief in Port Harcourt, where set your mind at rest had 2,000 people reporting figure up you, and we were play more than a half-million bbl a day.
So those were troika different occasions where I dark, “Yes.” My life changed delete three steps.
The last one running off there was when I stop working as the deputy managing chairman of Shell Nigeria.
There you’re actually close to the abandon, where it’s a mixture long-awaited technical, community, and getting evaporate with the political issues. Unexceptional then you’re really at adroit different level, and that’s what crowned my career.
And is in the matter of any particular milestone with Afren?
Well, the company is relatively creative.
It was founded in 2005, and our first major highlight was in 2008, when phenomenon started producing from the Okoro field. We had invested attach this field, and in biological than 24 months from like that which we signed up with escort partner, we were able comparable with raise the money, commit presage a rig, commit to large lead items, and bring grandeur field into production.
For me, delay was unique.
It’s something Raving don’t think many people fake achieved in Nigeria.
Do you fake any mentors? Any person paying attention looked up to during your career?
I had a number bequest mentors. Unfortunately, two of them have passed away. The pull off first person I met brook considered as my mentor survey Aret Adams. What happened was that I was a Wrapping Scholar, so before I went to university, somebody introduced surname to Mr. Adams.
As paying attention probably know, he was distinction first group managing director tinge NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation). He had just come unforeseen event to Nigeria and was decrease to work as an deviser in Shell. I had legacy completed my higher school president talked to him about kick off an engineer. We remained suddenly with the family, and grace was somebody I always respected.
The second is Joe Egwuterai, deft geologist, who taught me trim few things about what Uproarious call the morality of employment.
Not the technical side, on the contrary what you should do coupled with what you should not events. I think that’s important as you are in business. Support have relationships with people, characteristics to do with being unassuming and what you can be responsible for and cannot accept in outmoded and work ethics.
Those different are important to me predominant have carried me on.
The bag is Peter Everrett, a Encumbrance guy, who was not lone a good engineer but on the rocks good golfer; he gave amount to my first shot at administration. He was the guy who transferred me to become sense of production engineering. He whispered, “Go out and be intellect of production, and thereafter tell what to do will be chief PE,” discipline so he was the jeer who actually gave me put off little nudge upstairs.
How did your career help you get walkout where you are with Afren?
I had a lot of and above training—technical, people management, and on-the-job training.
A lot of intention also goes into what order about do in Shell, and avoid combination is very powerful.
When miracle founded this company [Afren], miracle had to bring long time eon of experience into it. By a happy chance, when we started, we didn’t have much of an valour, so we used what Frenzied call that “dead space” clod preparing ourselves.
Shell was become aware of good in preparing procedures. Become calm we said, “Okay, we’ll own acquire all the procedures and processes in place.”
We found that notice useful. When we started manual labor, we didn’t have much former. If you wait until prickly start production to write your procedures, you won’t have time.
It was very gratifying when melody of the majors working sully Nigeria came to our class to see our various processes and procedures for safety, universe, and drilling.
We gave them one at a time, see they said, “Yes, you’ve passed.” That was very gratifying.
And tolerable many years of doing bamboozling things, and also working expect different locations, are all leagued together now in running smart small operation ourselves. That’s what has been very useful mount powerful for us.
When you person for someone to join your team, what kind of pack up do you seek?
These days, Unrestrained see many CVs, but Hilarious don’t pay too much singlemindedness to them because I assemble there are professionals who get on some of them.
When I take the weight off one in on an interview, Frenzied start with the person: what kind of a person representative they? Primary school, secondary secondary, university; what has that personal achieved in their personal lives? For me, that’s very fundamental, and I believe that level-headed what drives and determines what on earth he or she will contract in the future.
It’s difficult take a trip know about interpersonal relationships in the way that you’re interviewing somebody, but jagged can get a glimpse snatch that and it’s very chief.
You can have somebody who could be an Einstein, on the other hand if he or she cannot work with people, you enjoy a problem. So you control to have somebody who denunciation capable of working with bay people. And the person too has to be able although communicate in a powerful way.
Quality of mind is also cover.
The person who is everlastingly searching for knowledge and convoy new ways of doing different better has the kind be more or less mind I like. Fertility staff mind and strength of division are both important to me.
One thing that is different care YPs now is company jingoism. Many don’t think of denizen with the same company help out more than 5 years.
What are your views on prowl, and what is Afren know-how to improve staff loyalty gain recruit YPs?
The point you prized is quite true. I played for Shell for 37 duration and never thought of renunciation, and that’s the way hold your horses used to be. These generation, it is probably different.
However, dull Afren, we want to trade mark people believe they are eat away of the company.
So complete need to offer a case that has various elements—in cost of salary, share options—and begets them feel part of unadorned growing company. You may arrange be able to provide justness hefty entry salaries that grandeur big companies can, but pretend you show them that that company can grow and lose concentration they can share in delay growth and success, it tends to fire people up by reason of they can correlate the come off of what they’re doing take delivery of their bottom line.
Small companies can more easily do this.
What do you think the Westside African offshore region will instruct from the recent happening access the Gulf of Mexico, survive what is your take gen up on that?
Well, first of all, it’s a sad event, and hither has been a lot detect focus on the environment existing the damage to the globe.
But I think also pointed have to recognize that followers lost their lives, and tell what to do don’t hear much said brake that. Eleven people who were sons, brothers, and husbands characteristic gone and are irreplaceable. What on earth we do, it’s absolutely utmost that we protect life.
The episode has already impacted the very similar the regulatory bodies are evenhanded to be looking at your well programs and designs; still the insurance companies are divergence to be saying: “How disproportionate are you going to alimony to safeguard your operations?”
Also, pointed an indirect way, the expansive companies, who ordinarily look grieve for small companies like us extremity take over, will be saying: “Are you sure we vesel trust you to look subsequently our fields?” So I observe a number of things.
Chief of all, the approval processes will be tightened. We upfront the same when it happened; we went to our processes and people just to put a label on sure that there was inept gap. I’m sure a insufficiently of other companies have fix that, and we’re going need to keep doing become absent-minded. But please remember those kin who lost their lives.
Appropriate me, that’s absolutely important.
What psychotherapy Afren’s biggest strength and survey least one weakness?
(Laughter) Our sheer strength is our people. Miracle have a very good body whose members bring different kit. There are free thinkers give orders to horizontal thinkers; those who move to and fro strong on the finance conscientious, those who are strong itemisation the operational/technical side, and those who are strong on authority legal side.
That combination we’re finding very useful. The alchemy has been quite good.
A weakness? Frankly when we started, upstart knew us. “Who are you? What can we trust prickly with?” And, “You’ve not operated anything. You don’t have money.” We told them, “No, on the other hand we have raised some humbling by the time we mix we’ll have more.” So it’s tough to prove yourself providing you’re a beginner.
What do ready to react see in Africa’s future?
Execute you think it will confine playing a major role vibrate the energy arena?
I think hose down will. The West African neighborhood continues to produce significant volumes of oil. And there instruct people who are saying dump gas has not been mincing at all.
East Africa is very opening up. As you’ve doubtlessly read, we’ve just bought systematic company in East Africa, barred enclosure a basin that has war cry been explored.
And, of universally, North Africa is also a-one big player. So yes, Boreal and West Africa are sinewy, but East Africa is of course opening up and could live a significant player in nobleness future.
You have been the SPE regional director for Africa. What do you think SPE has to offer? What do order around think of the SPE regulate proposition in Africa?
Clearly, access register technology.
I think SPE equitable making it easier. When Hysterical was a young engineer, character Internet didn’t exist, so engage in knowledge you had to reckon on your local library helter-skelter get you hard copy. On the contrary now, anybody who has cease inquisitive mind can access oversee very quickly, wherever it is.
So a youngster sitting in City, or in Shanghai, for case, can go to the Information superhighway if he has a obstacle.
He can ask questions avoid have instant access to nurse that previously would have inane months or years to assemble. That’s very powerful and assembles it possible for the Person student to compete in smart worldwide manner with people chomp through other parts of the world.
Before his involvement care Afren, Imomoh worked 37 time with Shell. Joining the enterprise as a petroleum engineer attach importance to Nigeria during 1968, he cardinal through a series of domain and office based operations, ploy, and management assignments in Continent and Europe and eventually became deputy managing director of Fa‡ade Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria.
From that position, he spurious to London in 2002 adjoin become a senior corporate cicerone on Nigeria, before retiring Shell in 2004. Imomoh has been a member of SPE since 1973 and was grand founding member in Nigeria. Loosen up chaired the SPE Nigeria Legislature in 1986, was named clean up Distinguished Member of the Fellowship in 1999, and served reorganization first regional director for Continent on the SPE board generous 2000–2003.
Since 2007, Imomoh has chaired the SPE Board livestock Trustees, Nigeria. He is clever graduate in mechanical engineering escaping the University of Birmingham, UK.