- Nigeria inaugurates first gravimetric metering facility in West Africa
- Federal Government signs gas and clean cooking MoU with IEA
- New facility aims to stop revenue leakages in crude oil measurement
- Indigenous firm leads major oil sector innovation
The Federal Government has intensified efforts to improve transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s crude oil sector with the commissioning of a gravimetric flow metering calibration facility in Eket, Akwa Ibom State, while also sealing a cooperation pact with the International Energy Agency on gas development, methane reduction and clean cooking access.
The calibration facility was inaugurated by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission in Eket, Akwa Ibom State. It is described as the first gravimetric multifaceted flow metering calibration centre in West Africa.
ATTENTION: Click “HERE” to join our WhatsApp group and receive News updates directly on your WhatsApp!
According to the Commission, the facility is designed to resolve long-standing challenges around crude oil measurement accuracy — a problem that has previously led to disputes among operators, revenue losses and heavy dependence on foreign laboratories for calibration services.
At the same time, the Federal Government signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Energy Agency to strengthen cooperation on methane emissions reduction, gas development, clean cooking access and technical support for Nigeria’s energy transition goals.
Speaking during the commissioning, the Chief Executive of NUPRC, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, praised Engineering Automation Technology Limited, the indigenous company behind the project, for its commitment and investment in the oil and gas sector.
Eyesan, who was represented by the Deputy Director for Development, Manuel Ibituroko, described the facility as “a transformative leap forward for Nigeria’s upstream industry.” He noted that the plant features zero-touch automation, tamper-proof audit trails and high-precision gravimetric standards aimed at eliminating human error and reducing downtime.
The Commission explained that the facility is capable of calibrating turbine, ultrasonic, Coriolis, electromagnetic and positive displacement meters; key equipment used to measure crude oil volumes in pipelines and export terminals. This is expected to improve regulatory compliance, production optimisation and overall operational efficiency across the sector.
In his remarks, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Engineering Automation Technology Limited, Dr Emmanuel Okon, said the project was born out of Nigeria’s local content policy. He noted that indigenous firms were encouraged in 2020 to build technical capacity locally rather than depend on foreign solutions.
