TechQuest Honours Oludayo Sofoluwe with the 2023 Sustainable Energy Innovation Award

By Kelvin Samuel

The atmosphere inside the TechQuest International Innovation Award hall was still settling when the announcement came through for one of the night’s most anticipated categories. Among the applause, cameras, and quick bursts of celebration, the name of Mr. Oludayo Sofoluwe emerged as one of the top 10 recognised winners, selected from 15 nominees, for the TechQuest Sustainable Energy Innovation Award 2023. It was a moment that carried the weight of years of technical work, quiet leadership, and a consistent commitment to safer and more reliable offshore operations.

The award is one of the core highlights of this year’s TechQuest International Innovation Award ceremony, a platform dedicated to celebrating professionals who are shaping the future of engineering, technology, and sustainable practice across the region. For those who have followed his career closely, the recognition felt timely and well deserved.
Mr. Oludayo Sofoluwe is an experienced energy professional whose career spans offshore oil and gas, subsea systems, and field operations. He is widely recognised for the way he turns complex engineering problems into clear and workable solutions that keep production stable and protect both people and equipment.

His footprint at TotalEnergies in Nigeria offers a clear view of this trajectory. He first supported offshore activities directly, working close to the field and earning hands-on exposure to the realities of subsea operations. From there, he took on major responsibilities in the commissioning of deepwater production systems, contributing to projects that demanded precision, endurance, and a steady understanding of how offshore installations behave under real conditions.

As his responsibilities expanded, he moved into the management of subsea maintenance and life of field operations, a critical area for any offshore asset. In that role, he coordinated interventions on the seabed, guided teams through demanding offshore campaigns, and provided technical support for both established assets and new project developments. His work supported the resolution of integrity issues that could have disrupted production, improved equipment reliability, and extended the useful life of critical subsea components.

Before reaching this point in his career, Mr. Sofoluwe built a broad engineering foundation across several disciplines in the energy value chain. He worked as a subsea support engineer, a facilities and petroleum engineer, a reservoir engineer, and a projects and facility engineer. His involvement in well hook ups, pipeline work, process facility upgrades, gas lift systems, and field development studies gave him a rare panoramic understanding of how different engineering elements come together to sustain an energy project from concept to daily operation.

His academic foundation reflects the same clarity of purpose. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Ilorin and a master’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from Heriot Watt University in the United Kingdom. These qualifications strengthened his ability to bridge detailed engineering work with larger operational strategy, a skill that continues to guide his work in the field.

Across all these roles, colleagues consistently describe him as calm, clear, and focused. His leadership style brings people, processes, and technology into alignment around practical outcomes. This approach has shaped more reliable offshore operations and contributed to a stronger and more resilient energy sector.

The Sustainable Energy Innovation Award is not limited to new technologies alone. It recognises individuals whose work helps the energy industry produce power more safely, more responsibly, and with a stronger attention to long term performance.

This is where Mr. Sofoluwe’s contribution becomes clear.
His work in subsea maintenance, deepwater commissioning, and asset integrity has helped create offshore systems that run with fewer risks, lower waste, and higher reliability.

When subsea equipment is maintained properly and integrity challenges are resolved early, emergency interventions are reduced, environmental risks are limited, and production becomes cleaner and more stable.

Under his leadership, teams have carried out seabed operations with attention to detail and a strong focus on safety. Planned maintenance activities have been executed with efficiency, allowing facilities to avoid unnecessary shutdowns and unplanned flaring events. His approach shows how sustainability can be reinforced through consistent engineering discipline rather than sweeping policy alone.

His broad experience across engineering functions also positions him to see the larger impact of field decisions. He understands how pipeline choices influence reliability years later, how changes in reservoir behaviour shape operational strategy, and how process facility adjustments affect energy use and emissions. This end to end view helps him identify solutions that improve both performance and sustainability, instead of forcing a trade off between the two.

The judges for the TechQuest Sustainable Energy Innovation Award were clear in their reasoning.
Mr. Sofoluwe deserves the award for the way he applies real field experience to strengthen safer, cleaner, and more efficient offshore operations. His work in subsea maintenance, deepwater commissioning, and asset integrity consistently supports energy systems that run with fewer risks, less waste, and higher reliability. He has led teams through critical interventions, refined operational processes, and championed improvements that reduce downtime and encourage responsible resource use.

What set his contribution apart is his ability to connect daily engineering decisions with long term sustainability goals. By improving how offshore assets are maintained and how field operations respond to technical challenges, he helps create an environment where energy production is both dependable and aligned with modern expectations around efficiency and responsible resource management.

This alignment between technical depth, practical leadership, and sustainability impact is what ultimately placed him among the top 10 winners in the category.
With this year’s award ceremony now concluded, attention naturally shifts to the 2024 edition. The organisers have made it clear that next year’s event will place an even stronger emphasis on practical innovations that support long term energy resilience, operational reliability, and environmental responsibility.
The story of Mr. Oludayo Sofoluwe offers a clear lesson for companies, innovators, students, engineers, and researchers preparing for the next cycle.

Innovation is not limited to inventions or digital breakthroughs. It also lives in the careful work that keeps existing systems functioning at a high standard, minimises risk, reduces waste, and extends the useful life of critical assets.

Participants in TechQuest 2024 would do well to pay attention to examples like his, where sustainability is achieved through field tested decisions, thoughtful engineering, and leadership that places performance and responsibility on the same level.

As the applause fades from this year’s ceremony, the message is clear. The future of sustainable energy will be shaped by people who combine technical competence with steady judgment, and who understand that real progress in the sector comes from solutions that work as well in the field as they do on paper.

Today, the spotlight rests on Mr. Oludayo Sofoluwe, one of the winners of the TechQuest Sustainable Energy Innovation Award 2023, whose career stands as a reminder that sustainability is built not only by new ideas, but by reliable hands guiding complex systems toward safer and more responsible operation.