President Muhammadu Buhari will virtually inaugurate the National Oil and Gas Excellence Centre (NOGEC), Lagos, on January 21, in a bid to boost the operations of the nation’s petroleum sector.

Mr Paul Osu, Head, Public Affairs of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), made the announcement in a statement on Monday, in Lagos, according to The Guardian.

He quoted the Director of DPR, Mr Sarki Auwalu, the chief host of the event, as saying that the centre would afford the oil and gas industry the critical elements for competitive advantage, in a changing global energy landscape.

He said: ''The integrated centre will also entrench Nigeria’s status as a regional leader and position the nation for significant global impact in the provision of value-added services and breakthrough solutions for the industry in years and decades to come.''

According to him, the centre was structured to drive the three-pronged objectives of safety, value and cost efficiency, which are critical for oil and gas industry stability, growth and sustainability.

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The DPR boss also said that the NOGEC complex was structured to house various flagship centres, including Search, Rescue and Surveillance (SeRAS) Command and Control Centre and National improved Oil Recovery Centre (NIORC), in order to comprehensively cover all the key areas of the industry.

Other centres are the Oil and Gas Dispute Resolution Centre (DRC), Oil and Gas Competence Development Centre (CDC) and Integrated Data Mining and Analytics Centre (IDMAC).

Auwalu said: “SeRAS is an industry-wide programme established to enhance safety management, emergency preparedness and response, as well as bed space management and logistics services across the industry.

''The SeRAS Command and Control Centre (CCC), established at the NOGEC Centre, Lagos, will entrench safe practices, drive cost reduction and improve operational efficiency across the industry.

”Two other Rescue Coordination Centres (RCC) will be set up at Osubi and Brass, in the first instance, for effective coverage of all areas of operations.''