By Gerard Izuora-Lagos
Bowalds Energy riding at the back of the UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) influence has entered into discussions with major oil and gas firms operating in Nigeria with the view to expanding its footprint in the country.
In 2013 at the Global Nigerian-Aberdeen Forum, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and Royal Dutch Shell discussed the demand for experienced oil and gas engineering and consultancy firms prompting the setting up Bowalds Energy UK Ltd in Aberdeen, Scotland.
Subsequently, the Bowalds Energy has discussed development initiatives with GE Oil and Gas, Orando PLC, Seplat Petroleum and Wood Group.
Wilson Balogun, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of Bowalds Energy said the company has also advanced discussions with ExxonMobil, Addax Petroleum and Afren PLC.
As it ramps up its business in Nigeria, Bowalds Energy plans to expand its operations into Ghana, Uganda and Angola, using Nigeria as its regional hub.
One of Bowalds Energy’s priorities is to train young engineers in Nigeria to work on oil and gas projects.
Following the introduction to GE Oil and Gas, the two businesses have gone on to work closely together and Bowalds Energy’s young engineers are now receiving hands-on training at GE’s facilities in Lagos.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil and gas producer, and it is set to further grow its oil sector in the coming years. By 2020, it aims to increase its oil production capacity to 4 million barrels a day and expand its crude reserves to over 40 billion barrels. UKTI has been making UK businesses aware of the new opportunities that these plans will present.