By Enyeribe Ejiogu and Christy Anyanwu
Okeyode Ayodeji Ibrahim easily comes across as if the field of engineering was encoded in his DNA from birth. He became fascinated with the field from childhood. One would therefore be surprised to learn that he earned a 2.1 in Mechanical Engineering from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho, Oyo State. He later obtained a Master’s degree in Processing Engineering from the University of Lagos. He has solid experience in the design of deep offshore drilling fluids and application of the same.
An engineer with Schlumberger, Okeyode has tucked under his belt more than 12 years of experience in drilling fluids, worked on numerous oil rigs as a mud engineer, and supervisor and later became a Project Engineer.
Before berthing at Schlumberger, he worked as a spare parts officer at ATC, a subsidiary of Volvo Equipment Machine in Nigeria for eight months.
In this interview, he shares the story of his career journey in deep offshore engineering and specialist knowledge in drilling fluids and drilling operations on land, swamp, shallow water and deep water
What memories of your school days stand out?
School days are undoubtedly the best phase of life. This is a place where we learn new things, make close friends and build unforgettable memories. In those days there were no life pressures but just studies and play. I can never forget the day my friend and I read overnight for a test the next day. We woke up about 15 minutes before the test. We could not take our baths before going to school because the lecturer once he entered class shut the doors.
What informed your decision to study engineering and the particular field you chose?
One of the reasons include my passion for technology, innovation, creativity, and desire to solve problems. Studying mechanical engineering allowed me to diversify into all areas of engineering because there will always be machine and equipment needs in other areas of engineering. Also, my uncle worked in the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and he used to mention the various kinds of work that they do. This also motivated me to study engineering.
Please paint a picture of your career and give an insight into what the experience has been like.
I am a Project Engineer and specialist in drilling fluids. I have designed and formulated drilling fluids. I manage people, supervise inventory management and proffer technical solutions to drilling challenges. I provide solutions to solve the problem of hole cleaning, wellbore stability and losses. I am constantly learning and developing myself to meet global changes in drilling operations worldwide.
From an engineering point of view, what are the major challenges of deep offshore oil and gas exploration?
Deepwater offshore exploration is a complex and challenging process that requires high technology skills. These are some of the challenges encountered in deepwater operations:
Harsh environmental conditions which include high pressure, low temperature and corrosion
Logistics and transportation: personnel movement, equipment and products movement
Complex formation: Drilling through formations such as salt formation, unconsolidated formation and fracture formation that can cause the wellbore to collapse.
Cost: Offshore drilling is a capital-intensive project.
Safety: It poses significant safety and environmental risks. Accidents such as oil spills and gas leaks can have catastrophic consequences for the environment and human health. Ensuring the safety of personnel and minimizing the environmental impact of offshore operations is a major challenge.
Your resume says you have had a decade of experience in drilling fluids with SLB. What does ‘SLB’ mean and what is significant about it in terms of oil well drilling?
First SLB is an abbreviated form of Schlumberger, a major global oilfield services firm. The importance of oil well drilling in engineering is that there are specialized equipment and skills required to overcome the challenges of the geological formation and environment. There is a need for a blowout preventer (BOP) which is used to prevent blowout in case we experience a kill. Kill is where the formation pressure is higher than the mud weight. The BOP will be shut in when such occurs. Another advanced equipment is managed pressure drilling (MPD) which is used to drill where there is underbalanced drilling. Safety associated with drilling can be mitigated through advanced technology.
You have a Master’s degree in Project Management. What major projects have you managed since you got the degree? What benefits have accrued to your firm with the knowledge? In other words, what impact has that knowledge and experience made on the profitability of the firm?
I have an Executive Master’s degree in Project Management. The knowledge and skills have helped me to manage and execute some projects in Nigeria and West Africa: These include the Chevron drilling campaign in 2015-2020; the Folawiyo Aje drilling campaign 2014-2015; the PETRONAS Abandonment campaign 2020-2021; Supervising liquid and bulk plant installation 2021 in Mauritania; BP Drilling campaign 2021-2022 (Mauritania), and Petrofac Plug and Abandonment campaign 2022-2023 (Mauritania).
The impact of my knowledge and experience has made me deliver all the projects that I have handled, rendering quality service and extensively minimizing non-productive time. This has brought higher revenue to the company and showcased the reputation of the SLB as the leading servicing company in oil and gas.
The collapse of a well during drilling can be traumatic, causing pain and losses. What steps or technological measures can be taken to prevent this and achieve the desired results?
One, ensure and maintain proper mud weight. The mud weight needs to be maintained at the required level to prevent collapse. Two, do proper hole cleaning. Thirdly, reduce annular friction pressure losses during drilling and tripping in. Fourth, avoid setting casing in weak formation. Fifth, ensure accurate drilling and logging data for pore pressure and fracture gradient.
Based on your experience, what innovative solutions has Nigeria contributed to the global knowledge base of the Oil & Gas Industry?
In terms of local content development, the Nigerian government is promoting services that a local company can provide through NOGICG.
Secondly, digital solutions, to predict the production of crude oil through technology. Thirdly, cost optimization. Fourthly, advanced technology (drone & artificial intelligence, to improve safety, efficiency and reduce cost.
In the course of working as a drilling engineer, what challenges have you encountered and how did you surmount them?
As a drilling engineer, I have encountered problems such as ballooning, wellbore instability, losses and gas hydration. For gas hydration, when this occurs we use glycol to dissolve it. As for ballooning, initially, we thought we were having losses but the formation breathed back all the mud that was lost to the formation back to the pit.
For wellbore stability, we increased the mud weight and added some additives that will make wellbore consolidate properly. As for losses, during the design phase, we have already lost circulation material trees which tell us the types of pills that need to be pumped when we are having losses from seepage, partial and severe losses. Once we pump the pills it will reduce the losses.
What is your message to Nigerian engineering students?
My very first advice is that they should ensure to finish with good grades. They should be determined about what they want to achieve. Seek to have a mentor in the field that can guide you through. Attend exhibitions of associations in the Nigerian petroleum industry.
If a brilliant engineering student in 400-Level looking for a place to do his/her industrial training reads this interview and wants to apply to your firm, what are his/her chances of being accepted for the training?
Schlumberger regularly hires students for industrial training.
What specific corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives have you sponsored as a way of giving back to society?
I am a member of Door Youth Employment Initiative (we sponsor children to school)
When you are not talking about high-tech engineering, how do you relax?
I find joy in relaxing to watch football. movies and exercising.