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With nearly 40 billion barrels of proven hydrocarbon reserves, Nigeria is a critical production center in the world’s energy economy. The country is the largest producer in Africa, the world’s eighth largest exporter of crude oil, and a key supplier to markets in the United States and Western Europe.
Although the international oil companies (IOCs) have been operating in Nigeria for decades, the concept of establishing a major imaging center in West Africa was a bit daunting for GX Technology when we were approached by several major E&P operators earlier this decade. We knew these clients and had served them well in the Gulf of Mexico and North Sea, but we weren’t exactly sure how we would deal with the local traditions and business customs we knew we would face in Nigeria. In quite short order, we came to the conclusion that we would need a partner. Luckily, we found an ideal candidate in Bulwark Services. |
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Bulwark is a 100% indigenous Nigerian company that has been operating in Nigeria’s primary oil town – Port Harcourt. Bulwark is very familiar with the E&P industry, having provided various high-end mapping and document management services to geoscience customers since its inception. Bulwark’s founder, Lucky Awobasivwe, had a bolder vision for Bulwark, however. He wanted Bulwark to be the leading provider of advanced seismic data processing and geoscience data management solutions to the E&P firms operating in Nigeria so that his customers could more readily convert data to knowledge, thereby increasing production and employment in a country whose GDP is 95% dependent on oil. |
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When the venture was formed, both GXT and Bulwark were adamant that cross-training and technology transfer needed to be key components of the deal. Each side wanted the local center in Port Harcourt to have access to the latest technologies and data center management practices, in part because directives from Nigeria’s government call for a dramatic rise in seismic data processing capability within the country and in large measure because we wanted our IOC customers to access the same levels of advanced technology and personnel that they would find in any of our centers around the world. Lucky and his team made numerous trips to Houston for training in how to apply the latest seismic algorithms and workflows, as well as how to operate large-scale data processing centers. While not quite as large as our facility in Houston, the Port Harcourt center is entirely self-sufficient and operated by a world-class team of geoscience professionals.
Bulwark has been overseeing the Port Harcourt center for several years now, with our client base and project backlog steadily improving along the way. We are now beginning to execute ‘call off contracts,’ meaning we receive firm commitments from our customers for pre-specified amounts of work in the years ahead. We view this as a real sign that our early focus on technology transfer and customer satisfaction is paying off given that our customers are making commitments to the future. |
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Although the center has become more established, our trans-border collaboration continues. Members of our technical and commercial teams continue to visit Nigeria on a routine basis, helping to disseminate the latest data processing techniques at industry shows or through in-house training programs. As our project backlog grows and the center begins to take on the most advanced projects in data processing – including full-wave imaging from the seabed – we continue to make the investments needed to ensure our GXT-Bulwark Seismic Processing Center helps fulfill Lucky’s original vision for his company, his employees, and his customers. |
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