Daily Independent (Lagos)
By Valentine Amanze & Anthonia Soyingbe
5 December 2008
Safety of oil and gas workers in Nigeria has been guaranteed, as Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) signs Memoradum of Understanding (MoU) for the adoption of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' (ASME) standard for the production of pressure vessel in Nigeria.
The document, which was signed at SON's office in Lagos, signifies that Nigeria has finally adopted ASME's standards.
Director General of SON, Dr. John Akanya, who spoke at the event, which attracted many stakeholders, stressed the importance of the document to Nigeria.
Represented by Head of Department, Standards Directorate, Mr. John Achukwu, the director general said with the pact signed with ASME, "Nigeria is set to take its rightful place in the international community.
"We are set to take our rightful place in the oil and gas setor; making contacts with standards bodies all over the world. Our focus is to look around the world and see where we can apply our expertise and knowledge because our main focus is to provide standards for end users."
Akanya explained that pressure vessel is a closed container designed to hold gases or liquids at a pressure different from the ambient pressure.
According to him, "the pressure differential is potentially dangerous and many fatal accidents had occurred in the history of their development and operation. Consequently, their design, manufacture, and operation are regulated by engineering authorities backed up by laws.
"For these reasons, the definition of a pressure vessel varies from country to country, but involves parameters such as maximum safe operating pressure and temperature."
Also, the representative of Alfyer Engineering Limited, Anthony Peters, said his company had been using the standard "and it is very good," while saying that Nigerian companies would soon discover its usefulness.
SON is the apex body to investigate the quality of facilities, materials and products in Nigeria, and establish a quality assurance system, including certification of factories, products and laboratories in country is leaving no stone unturned to ensure quality product in Nigeria.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Daily Independent. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
