C & I Leasing Nigeria in partnership with Fueltrax, a nautical control solution company based in Houston, Texas, USA last week organised a one-day conference for ship vessel owners to explain the importance and benefits of the fueltrax solution to their operation. Fueltrax which started operation 15 years ago has in the last 30 months installed about 80 solutions in Nigerian vessels. The solution which provides tamper-prove data through satellite, supports offshore industry. The system ensures transparency and accountability in vessel and fuel management and allows the IOCs and vessel owners to monitor vessel usage, engine performance and manner of fuel consumption. In the end it assists in efficient operation of the vessels, cost reduction and fuel consumption reduction of upto 12 percent depending on other variables. Victoria Cantu, sales and marketing manager of Fueltrax explains further to BusinessDay the working of the solution. Excerpts.
Originally what informed the invention of this solution?
First, our goal is to help to solve the challenges of fuel and vessel management in the offshore industry. We have been doing this business in the last 15 years. Recently, we have concentrated our efforts to help solve those challenges in Nigeria.
There was an inland marine company, called Kirby Inland Marine and that company came to Anthony George, the inventor of this solution in 2003 to ask for a way of monitoring fuel in his vessels. George built a control system in the fuel but the client needed the system on the board so that he can take decisions based on the information. This is where he started building fueltrax. This is where the electronic fuel monitoring industry started. 2004 was when the first fueltrax was installed.
How does the solution work?
All the information comes to us directly from the clients – the vessel owners, the IOCs and other fuel stakeholders. They are the ones that come to us to tell us what they want. We then get their input on how to build the system. Everything we do therefore is through the collaborative effort. We will like to consider ourselves as fuel control systems experts. We know how to control the systems. We also know the fuel quality, quantity and how to interpret the data for decision making by the vessel owners. They are the experts in operating the vessels and they know what they need to operate better. So, we seek their guidance all the time to make necessary adjustments.
What value do the solutions therefore bring to vessel owners and to the IOCs?
The vessel owners are gaining great control over the fuel management. Before electronic fuel management came into existence, the vessel owners were using manual method of collecting information and this was inaccurate and difficult to analyse. Having instantaneous monitoring system, visualising all the data makes it easy for vessel owners to make decisions goings forward. These benefits are to IOCs and to the vessel owners. The great thing about the system is that it brings transparency to the operation. It is more clear about what is happening to the fuel, how it is being utilised.
Averagely, what percentage cost of fuel can the system save?
For instance, Exxonmobil which has installed the operation said it is utilising one third less of its total operation cost with the same fleet. That is impressive figure that is interesting. That specific example was a specific case study where we help an operator change how the vessel was running based on the information we were receiving from Fueltrax.
What is the cost of installing the solution on vessels?
The cost varies and this depends on the measurement formula that the vessel owner wants. We can measure main engines or do a combination with other demands but it depends on how large the system is and how large the installation is. On average, it is between $100,000 and $150,000. But if the vessel owners need more components, that may cost more.
You have come to create awareness in Nigeria, so what are your expectations?
The marketing in Nigeria has taken off. The marketing we are doing in Nigeria is focussed on the needs in the market for the clients. What the vessel owners are asking is how they will benefit from Fueltrax. So our focus now is explaining to the vessel owners on how the system is beneficial on having the system on board. On potential of sales, there are many offshore operators in the world, but I cannot immediately figure out how many of that are in Nigeria, but I know that as fuel monitoring continues to expand, we will definitely make great impact in the market.
Do you have local partners or are you selling directly to vessel owners?
We have local partners but the partnerships vary. Currently we are selling directly from our Houston office but we are working to open our local affiliate office to represent us. Our partners will also help in installation services. Beyond that we will look for partners that will help to introduce us to new clients and assist to open doors of opportunities in the market.
How can a nation like Nigeria benefit from this solution?
I understand that the operators in Nigeria have a joint partnership with government. What this means therefore is that when the operators are saving fuel and cutting their operating expenditure, the Nigerian communities and organisations are also seeing those savings. When Exxonmobil saves one third of its operating cost, this translates to the nation. You are saving on fuel and other operating cost, hopefully those savings would be reinvested into further development. What we are saying is that if you have a large fleet operating for at least six months, you can see upto 10 percent savings across the spectrum. This can come from a variety of methods. You can use the Fueltrax data to change operation, to run the vessels more efficiently.
