Richard Ginika Izuora
International Oil Companies, IOCs, have sustained support towards building capacity of local oil and gas servicing firms in Nigeria through contracts awards that have been calculated to be in the region of $20 billion yearly.
This has also helped the country to fight capital flight that has impacted its economy over time.
The oil majors have also devoted about $15 billion which is channeled towards community development in line with their Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, initiative.
Chairman of the Oil Producers Trade Section, OPTS, of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, Rick Kennedy, speaking at the 60th anniversary dinner of the body in Lagos said the OPTS members have demonstrated resilience and commitment in the face of economic, security, environmental And funding challenges and have continued to make significant contributions to Nigeria’s development.
Kennedy, through his vice, Osagie Okunbor who is also the Managing Director of The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) and the Country Chair, Shell Companies, said as a group, the OPTS accounts about 90 per cent of Nigeria’s oil production and contributes significantly to the domestic and export gas production and supply.
“Over the last decade, OPTS member companies accounted for 40-60% of government revenue and 85-95% of export earnings.
The chairman recommitted the group to consistent exploration, development and production of Nigeria’s oil and gas resources in a manner that is sustainable and beneficial to the Nigerian people.
He also reassured of his members commitment to protecting the environment through safe and reliable operations consistent with industry standards and in compliance with government laws and regulations.
He added that members are continuing with efforts towards zero routine gas flaring and lowering emissions, as they have made forays into new energies in-country while evolving with the world’s movement towards cleaner, affordable energy.
According to him, OPTS are equally passionate about the implementation of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals because we recognize that business success is linked to society’s progress.
Towards that end, OPTS members continue to invest in good relations with host communities and partner with the government and the people to address gaps in accessing social amenities that enable and support good quality livelihoods.
Through their individual Corporate Social Responsibility programs, members have awarded over 138,300 national and international scholarships, contributed over $909 million to community development projects, over $58 million to medical facilities and programs and over $89 million to educational initiatives.
Most recently, OPTS members as responsible citizens, in partnership with the NNPC, have provided $30 million worth of aid to help government address the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic.
Members of the group have also been actualizing government’s intent with respect to increasing local content; namely developing human capacity and expanding technical capability and resources. For example: Chevron upgraded the Training and Conference Centre in Ogere, Ogun State from where over 400 trainees on operations and maintenance have graduated; ExxonMobil have delivered training to over 700 industry technicians at the Eket Technical Training Centre; Total Energies have continued to support the Institute of Petroleum Studies at University of Port Harcourt in order to provide students with theoretical and practical skills in the oil and gas industry; Shell has over the years embarked on several training and certification campaigns to develop local capabilities and training capacity; ENI provided subsea engineering training to graduate engineers as well as further project-based trainings to over 500 Nigerians; and so many more examples.
The group is working closely with the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board to ensure we achieve the local content mandate to create more jobs for Nigerians and shore up the technical expertise available in-country.
They have the intention to continue to invest in different trainings and education of Nigerians to be able to excel in local content as we want to create over 300,000 direct and indirect jobs over the next 10 years.
Recently, Nigeria launched its ‘Decade of Gas’ initiative, under the theme ‘Towards a gas-powered economy by 2030,’ that will work with the National Gas Expansion Programme to increase gas production.
The industry supports these important steps towards ensuring Nigeria’s vast natural gas resources are utilized for the benefit of the nation. The gradual shift to gas is welcome and OPTS members are ready to partner with government and other stakeholders to deliver the country’s roughly 200 trillion cubic feet of gas resource. We are interested in the National Gas Expansion Programme and members are ready to invest more with the right fiscal environment.
The recent passage and signing into law of the Petroleum Industry Act (“PIA”) by President Muhammadu Buhari represents a major milestone in the reform of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. OPTS will be working in partnership with all stakeholders to ensure a smooth and successful implementation of the PIA that will bring certainty to the regulatory and fiscal framework for the oil and gas industry.
To sustain the critical role of supporting the economy, OPTS continues to advocate for industry-wide collaboration with government to further address issues related to security of personnel and assets as well as reducing operating expenses. Furthermore, we, along with our many partners, are committed to helping further unlock Nigeria’s oil and gas resources to sustain and, where commercially competitive opportunities exist, invest and grow production in an efficient, responsible, and cost-effective manner.
As the strength of the nation’s economy, OPTS members continue to partner and collaborate with each other and collectively with government and other industry stakeholders as we jointly develop Nigeria’s vast resources in the oil and gas sector to achieve sustainable economic development and contribute positively to the Nigerian economy.