An indigenous aviation company, Omni-Blu Aviation Limited, says it has partnered with the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to render services to oil firms across the country.
Capt. James Daniel, the company’s Managing Director, made this known on Monday at the flag off of the SeRAS Services at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA) in Lagos.
Daniel said that the partnership with DPR was in the areas of licencing and technical supports.
According to him, this is to further promote Search, Rescue and Surveillance (SeRAS) in the oil and gas sector.
He said that the company remains the only one that has been authorised and approved by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA) to operate ambulance services.
Daniel said that the company’s experience over the years in the oil and gas sector and search and rescue services made it a force to reckon with in the provision of the service.
He explained that the partnership was the first phase of the exercise, saying that Omni-Blu was planning to acquire more aircraft, which would further enable it to provide more technical expertise to carry out the business.
According to him, Omni-Blu will commence the SeRAS operation with two aircraft, while other planes would be added to its fleet.
“This is to further expand the business; the company is hoping to acquire additional three AW-139 aircraft.
“If an oil rig catches fire for example and you need to evacuate people from there, you have to start this with a severe risk assessment, because there are risks to the lives already on the platform and there are also risks to those operating the machines.
“Therefore, the training levels are going to be topnotch. The capabilities of the pilots will also be top notch.
“This is a three-man crew. We have two pilots and what we call the winch man.
“This requires some of the highest amount of team work, because you are under extreme pressure and time constraint.
“So, it is very necessary that the team work seamlessly and as one. Search and rescue is more intricate.
“The helicopter will be able to come to the position; it will remain like in a high hover and we may have to winch people down, put them into baskets, winch them back up and come close to the water, amongst others.
“There are so many scenarios that only highly trained personnel can execute such a project. There is a centre for this operation here in Lagos, one in Osubi, one in Boni and two other centres,” he added.
The Omni-Blu managing director said that as long as companies continue to excavate oil and gas, Nigeria and organisations in the sector would require the service.
“The vision of the Chief Executive Officer of Omni-Blu is to grow the vision into a regional support, and SeRAS has come to stay,” he said.
Also, Mr Akin Olateru, the Commissioner in charge of Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), described search and rescue as a big deal to save lives and property and enhances productivity.
Olateru advised countries around the world to take search and rescue more seriously, saying that this was one of the roadmaps of Hadi Sirika, the Minister of Aviation.
Commenting, Mr Sarki Auwalu, DPR Chief Executive Officer, said that provision of the equipment would boost security immensely and help in de-risking the country.
Auwalu said that provision of the equipment was a huge asset to the petroleum industry.
He said that 80 per cent of the energy supply chain requires search and rescue equipment like the one to be provided by Omni-Blu
“Much of the revenue this country gets is from the petroleum industry, and if it is not safe, the common man won’t have the required energy to move.
“Mobility requires energy, which is refined products like fuel, cooking gas and others.
“People who work to get these products to Nigerian households need to be safe and that is why we are trying to de-risk our nation.
“This infrastructure that we put in place with the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva will make it easier for investors who are ready to come and work in a safe and secure environment,” he said.
Auwalu appealed to organisations in the oil and gas industry to key into the programme, stating that it was key to their success.
