Omani technology firm iNNOVATEQ all set for global expansion
iNNOVATEQ, an Omani technology firm, was established two years ago to commercialise the Nibras platform, a digital transformation solution de- signed to help petroleum companies manage their assets optimally. With Nibras platform’s proven track record and long experience at Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), iNNOVATEQ is now planning to expand into other markets by taking its unique digital transformation platform global.
iNNOVATEQ has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Oman LNG as the com- pany is looking to offer its expertise for downstream industries in the future.
In an interview, Dr Riyadh Moosa, CEO of iNNOVATEQ, explained the uniqueness of Nibras platform, its experience with PDO and the com- pany’s plans for international expansion.
iNNOVATEQ is just a two years old company but Nibras platform has been with PDO for many years. How did iNNOVATEQ start and who owns this company presently? iNNOVATEQ’s birth was a result of PDO’s digital transformation pro- gramme, targeting operational chal- lenges that couldn’t be addressed with off the shelf products and solu- tions tailoring. Our digital oilfield platform Nibras was initially built as an in-house initiative in PDO and later this platform was spun out and be- came a product of the new entity which is iNNOVATEQ. At PDO, Nibras was designed to optimise operations and maintenance of oil and gas assets.
The idea of commercialising Nibras and starting up iNNOVATEQ was born when many major petro- leum companies visited PDO and commended the uniqueness and efficiency of Nibras. This inspired the PDO management to draw a plan for the creation of a company to com- mercialise Nibras and generate in- country value from it. The company was established to offer oil and gas companies the culmination of two decades of expertise in achieving significant and sustainable business transformation through digital transformation.
iNNOVATEQ today is completely a separate company from PDO. We can say it’s a company in which a majority of stakes are owned by well established public entities, Oman National Investments Development Company (TANMIA) and Innovation Development Oman (IDO Investments).
Who are the major clients of iNNOVATEQ and how about expan- sion outside Oman?
PDO is our largest client in Oman and we will continue to support PDO in fu- ture. Now we are also looking for growth and expansion within Oman and globally by forming relationships in both upstream and downstream in- dustries.
We have signed the MoU with Oman LNG. We are already serving a couple of clients outside the sul- tanate. And we are also on the verge of signing with few major clients out- side Oman, which we hope will be announced soon. I can say that we are fully geared up to go international with Nibras platform. Since we have already es- tablished operations outside Oman i.e. Kazakhstan, we are gearing up to launch operations in other parts of the world.
Is iNNOVATEQ the only firm in Oman providing a digital transforma- tion platform for oil and gas industry?
If you talk in terms of the use of artifi- cial intelligence (AI) and advanced data analytics in oil and gas sector, there are few firms working in these areas. But in terms of end-to-end dig- ital transformation and end-to-end business transformation through dig- ital means, Nibras platform is very unique not only in Oman but also across the world. With oil and gas sector being the largest industry in Oman, Nibras is an essential tool in ensuring efficiencies and increasing productivity.
In your view, what makes Nibras so unique?
At iNNOVATEQ we pride ourselves for coming from a petroleum operator background. For us, customer focus means fitting our solution to cus- tomer needs, not the other way round. What we offer our clients is practical asset management solutions that fit their organisation’s purpose and business drivers; tailored to their assets and staff.
There are a few things which make Nibras unique. This platform does not need us to push the technology and insist our clients that they should do things our way, instead we enable their way through this platform. Ni- bras is based on a Lean methodology that had completely transformed PDO. This Lean methodology enables the connections between various business drivers.
Nibras is built with an open archi- tecture to connect to the client’s cor- porate databases. Our smart algorithms transform the data into ac- tionable insight prioritised by value. These insights trigger leaned digitised business processes which enable the staff and management to better un- derstand their assets and make in- formed decisions about them.
As far as the end-to-end business transformation is concerned, I would like to say that Nibras is a globally unique solution platform; it is an ex- ceptional digital innovation that will enable oil and gas industry operations to overcome many production and operational related challenges. Our biggest achievement at PDO was that we were able to impact their business and increase productivity tremen- dously.
Can you tell more about the new MoU with Oman LNG?
This MoU is the beginning of our re- lationship and long-term partnership with Oman LNG. Our experience with PDO would enable us to create value for Oman LNG in future. Our intention is to translate this MoU into a long- term partnership with Oman LNG and enable this major organisation on their digital transformation journey.
Do you expect more such ties up with Oman-based oil and gas operators? Yes, we will continue to look for tie- ups with oil and gas companies in the same way we had with PDO and now our partnership with Oman LNG. We are very much in talks with other companies. Our current focus is still on oil and gas upstream, but we are also talking to companies in other in- dustries and we are getting positive responses from them.
Where do you see iNNOVATEQ in the next few years?
Going forward, our focus would not only be on the Omani market, we would focus to take Nibras global. We will get in touch with potential clients across the world. Nibras is a very unique platform across the world if we consider the end-to-end value streams integrations in digital trans- formation. We believe that with the right efforts and right support we can become one of the industry standards in the upstream oil and gas industry.