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Okafor Franklin Tochukwu is a professional corrosion and inspection manager who conducts extensive asset integrity assessments. His diligent contributions to the industry have resulted in cost savings, corrosion damage control for multiple projects, and reported improvement in employees’ safety.
Educational training
Fond of mathematics and scientific studies, Okafor Franklin found inspiration in the engineering department. His curiosity drove him to earn his Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from the University of Lagos in 2011. Currently, he is pursuing his online Master of Science in Subsea Engineering from the University of Aberdeen.
Committed to his professional development, Okafor Franklin has accomplished multiple training and certified courses conducted by industry leaders. They help him advance his leading skills and expertise in corrosion control, maintenance, damage elimination, engineering and processing equipment management, and other tasks vital to ensure smooth and safe operations.
Outside of his primary studies, Okafor has joined several establishments. He has a membership with AMPP International and a corporate membership with the Nigerian Society of Engineers. His memberships have helped him stay committed to safety and excellence in the industry.
Professional operations
Tochukwu’s career started at Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in Nigeria. In his first role, from 2013 to mid-2016, he was the pipeline integrity engineer. With his aptitude, he reduced the flowline leak count by up to 80%, leading to cost savings for SPDC. He also optimized the Gbaran SOS project by spearheading corrosion inhibitor selection. In another project, he assessed intermetallic phases in DSS piping to save $1.7 million.
Okafor advanced his career to become SPDC’s onshore corrosion and inspection manager. He adequately demonstrated his skills in various software like SAP and CIMS to plan, execute, and monitor onshore pipeline inspections. In many projects, Tochukwu used effective inspection techniques like risk-based inspection (RBI) for over 40 SEPCiN assets. He co-facilitated a full RBI implementation for offshore and onshore stations for relief and piping valves to save over $80 million. His successful implementation of RBI deployment earned him the Shell Platinum Award in 2017.
He first demonstrated his leadership potential by overseeing the development of over 70 inspectors. With the help of experienced engineers, he implemented a competence gap closure plan that consisted of job rotation and external training. His development initiatives for material, corrosion, and inspection education dramatically decreased corrosion-related leaks from 48 in 2014 to 4 in 2017.
Tochukwu’s career soon advanced to undertake subsea operations at Bonga FPSO in 2018. As the senior subsea corrosion and inspection engineer, he combated corrosion under insulation failures by developing state-of-the-art fabric maintenance technologies. His efforts drove failures down by 95%. He also directed the inspection and monitoring program for the company’s pipeline integrity assessment.
During Bonga FPSO’s In-Water Survey Campaign, he earned a Shell Special Recognition Award for prompt survey execution. Rather than the projected 90 days, he delivered the project within 40 days. By utilizing divers, ROVs, and scope alignments, he realized $2.4 million in savings.
After a year at Bonga FPSO, Okafor became a senior engineer and began supervising topside and subsea operations. He became a Level 3 materials and corrosion technical authority, verifying his ability to implement corrosion management frameworks and assess corrosion damage reports. One of his most significant milestones at Bonga FPSO was using software to automate corrosion damage reports and decrease output time from 14 days to 15 minutes.
During the Bonga 2020 Scheduled Maintenance Activity, he executed a fabric maintenance campaign and guided over 60 personnel in inspecting 20 static pressure devices. For his passion, he earned an Asset Manager Excellence Award.
During Bonga FPSO TAM 2022, he safely guided over 45 staff members in inspecting 33 static instruments, which earned him another Asset Manager Excellence Award.
Conclusion
Okafor Tochukwu has proven himself an asset in the corrosion and inspection engineering field. By saving millions of dollars in operating and maintenance and leading a voluminous team of inspection personnel, he is leading the way for the development and innovation of energy engineering and technologies in the future.
