Tech investment, industry collaboration vital to energy growth, Coleman

George Onafowokan, Managing Director and CEO of Coleman Technical Industries Limited, is urging for greater investment in technology and enhanced collaboration across the oil and gas value chain in Nigeria. He believes these steps are crucial for driving innovation, improving efficiency, and bolstering the nation's manufacturing capabilities.

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Today, through automation and technologies such as programmable logic controllers, we have embedded quality assurance, quality control and health, safety and compliance into our production processes while significantly improving efficiency.

Speaking at the 25th NOG Energy Week Conference and Exhibition in Lagos, Onafowokan emphasized technology's transformative role in the global energy industry. He noted the shift from labor-intensive manufacturing to technology-driven processes, citing automation and digital systems as key drivers. These advancements embed quality assurance, control, and safety compliance directly into production, significantly boosting efficiency.

Onafowokan explained that modern production systems allow fewer workers to manage more equipment. Advances in artificial intelligence and automation have also shortened product design cycles, improved value engineering, and made pricing more competitive. Coleman Technical Industries' own investment in technology has enabled it to locally manufacture specialized products previously imported, such as Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) cables for an international oil company.

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We are now the default producer of VFD cables for that international oil company, supplying its offshore facilities on a monthly basis. This demonstrates the long-term value of investing in technology despite the high initial costs.

He highlighted the long-term value of technological investment, even with high initial costs, pointing to Coleman's ability to supply VFD cables monthly to an offshore facility. Onafowokan stressed that collaboration among manufacturers, technology firms, international oil companies, and indigenous operators is vital for a competitive energy industry. He encouraged stakeholders to invest in Manufacturing Execution Systems and pursue collaborative initiatives to reduce technology adoption costs.

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The adoption and evolution of technology are not cheap, but the long-term value is enormous. As efficiency improves, productivity increases, competitiveness grows, and the investment ultimately delivers stronger returns.