Adilson Nelumba, CEO of Copia Group of Companies, talks to The Energy Year about the benefits of local, third-party supervision of large construction and energy projects, and the company’s expansion into AI-driven seismic interpretation and reservoir modelling software.
Copia Group of Companies provides topography, onshore seismic and civil works project management services.
- Angola’s oil and gas sector still has a supervision gap, particularly in seismic work, where contractors have often handled quality control without independent oversight.
- Applying a construction-style supervision model to oil and gas projects could improve accountability and reduce execution risk.
- Local supervision companies can help transfer technical knowledge across the value chain, supporting a shift from local content to local upliftment.
What market gaps were you seeking to address when you founded Copia?
Copia came about to solve what I saw as the biggest barrier to the successful execution of oil and gas projects in Angola: inadequate oversight and supervision. When I worked for Sonangol, I was responsible for the seismic survey of the Kwanza Basin, the first one after the war, and we encountered many challenges. I understood, together with my bosses at the time, that we needed a separate company to supervise the seismic company.
For many years, seismic work offshore Angola has suffered from a supervision gap, with quality control and assurance being handled by the seismic companies with no oversight. I saw a possibility to improve outcomes, and I established Copia to deliver supervision, oversight and quality assurance for major structural projects in the oil and gas and construction sectors.
In construction, when you engage a contractor for a service, you need to immediately hire a supervision company to oversee the checks and balances. It is a must. It is not so essential in mining and oil projects because standards are generally higher, but allowing contractors to supervise themselves, from my point of view, is a risk.
You are involved in the Caculo Cabaça hydroelectric power project. What is the scope of your work?
We had participated in the construction of the transmission line linking the Laúca hydroelectric power station to Bita, clearing paths for the line and providing support for demining and engineering work. We joined the Caculo Cabaça project as a supervision company after participating in the bidding and qualifying to oversee the EPC contractor on behalf of the project owner. That is exactly the role we want to play in oil and gas projects.
Does Copia have specific capabilities it can offer to oil and gas projects?
Copia is strongest in supervision and quality assurance, but we understand that if we only focus on these areas, we will miss opportunities in others, so Copia is evolving into a software company.
We have two main software products. One is Copia Seis, which is an AI-powered platform for seismic interpretation. Seismic interpretation can take up to 24 months, and our software can cut that time in half, with AI doing most of the work.
The other is Copia DynamicSim, which is for reservoir modelling. Many IOCs use and supply proprietary software, but the licences are very expensive and paid in dollars. Copia DynamicSim is cheaper, not because it is inferior software, but because it is developed domestically and can be paid for in kwanzas. It can also be used in Portuguese. It is especially useful for Angolan companies that already have producing fields.
How large is the opportunity for domestic companies seeking to supervise oil and gas projects in Angola?
In exploration, there are issues surrounding the sensitivity of the data acquired, but that needn’t preclude supervision by local companies. Many African markets are shifting from promoting local content to pursuing local upliftment, and involving local companies in the supervision of different phases of the value chain is a great way to transfer knowledge.
Supervision companies need teams with experience in a variety of disciplines, but they don’t necessarily need to be domestic from the very beginning. Initially, experts can be hired from Europe, America or Asia.
Angola has been producing oil and gas for many decades, and we need to ask how many Angolan companies today can identify prospects, make exploration decisions, drill exploration and appraisal wells, and cover the full value chain. By structuring the sector’s supervision more similarly to construction, technology and know-how could be transferred more quickly.