The Group Chief Executive of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari has received a delegation from the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers (NSChE), led by Engr. Olarewaju-Alo B. Olumuyiwa, National President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and a member of the delegation, is the Managing Director and Chief Executive of the GGI group, Dr. (Engr.) Innocent Akuvue, among others.
The theme of the discussions during the visit centered on a strategic collaboration between the professional body and NNPC Ltd. to strengthen the advancement of Nigeria’s energy sector, with a focus on process safety, refinery upgrades, industrialization, and sustainable development.
Also in the meeting, the professional body (NSChE) seized the ample opportunity to showcase its initiatives, including the Process Safety Initiative of Nigeria (PSIN) and efforts to improve academia-industry partnerships.
The International Affairs Committee (IAC) of NSChE has in its recent publication, spearheaded the creation of PSIN as a vehicle for driving and deepening Process Safety (PS) knowledge and practice in Nigeria. Working in collaboration with the National Secretariat, PSIN has been successfully registered as a not-for-profit organization in Nigeria.
Highlighting the Initiative, a distinction needs to be made between Process Safety and the more traditional Occupational Safety. The latter is usually associated with the safety and protection of personnel at work. It is characterized by relatively high occurrence frequencies and low incident consequences.
PS, on the other hand, is about the protection of people, property, and the environment from episodic incidents that may result from unplanned or unexpected deviations in the processing, handling, and application of chemicals and petroleum products. It often entails explosion, fire, or hazardous releases and is characterized by low occurrence frequencies but severe incident consequences.
According to Nigeria Society of Chemical Engineers, the objectives of PSIN are to create strong awareness of PS in the Oil & Gas and Chemical Process Sectors, engender sharing of best practices amongst all players in the sectors, collect, analyse, disseminate and share PS data amongst industry stakeholders and advance and deepen PS knowledge and best practices in the sectors.
Other critical objectives of PSIN include driving of PS advocacy in-country, contribute positively to public policy formulation in areas relevant to PS, to spearhead inculcation of PS in undergraduate/graduate curricula in relevant technological disciplines, equip lecturers and academics in the relevant disciplines with the vital knowledge and skills required to instruct the students, enhance the competencies of industry practitioners in PS continuingly and among others
On receiving the distinguished delegates of the noble profession, the Eng. Ojulari expressed the mutual commitment and importance of both parties to fostering innovation, supporting capacity building, and delivering long-term value creation for the industry for the benefit of the engineering profession in particular and the nation in general.
