Bank-Anthony okoroafor urges indigenous companies to build capacity to take advantage of opportunities in oil and gas sector

THE Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria, PETAN, has urged Nigerians in the oil and gas industry to build capacity in order take full advantage of the growing opportunities in the sector. Bank-Anthony Okoroafor, chairman, PETAN, said if the country must wean itself off the dominance of the oil industry by foreigners, operators should be ready to take the lead in building capabilities.

At the just-concluded Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair, NOGOF, in Bayelsa, Okoroafor lamented the seeming lack of attention being paid to some areas of the industry. He stressed that industry operators must begin to see it as whole.

“Anybody interested in the oil and gas industry should be here because all the opportunities in the downstream, midstream and upstream are all laid bare here. Now, all we need to do is to build capacity and capability to be able to take part in those businesses. The NCDMB has presented the opportunities, but you can take a horse to the stream, you can’t force it to drink water.

“The opportunities here are for the grabbing. PETAN has built capacity over the years in terms of personnel, technical, operations and finance. We are ready and we are looking out for the jobs,” he said.

On insinuations that advertisements for contracts in the industry were opaque and not transparent, Okoroafor maintained that the industry has always been open, since jobs are given on the basis of know-how. “The industry does not single-source where they have capabilities. They only do that when there’s only one company having that capability. There is no underhand dealing in this business. Your capacity and capabilities speak for you.”

To ensure quality in the industry, the chairman explained that the process to validate all its members was ongoing with the issuance of a seal of confidence to its members. “PETAN’s seal of confidence is on track. Now, Bureau Veritas has written to all the companies and sent out all the requirements. We are waiting for veritas to start visiting the companies for the audit” he noted.

“For the past 10 years, nothing much has happened in the deep water. It’s time to unlock the deepwater opportunities, whether it’s in fabrication, well construction, pipelines or production. How do we integrate 600 million Africans who live in darkness? How do we use our gas to energise Africa, rather than this rent-seeking economy?

“People are moving away from fossil fuel to electric. Look at what is happening all over the world. Look at all the gas in Africa. We need to look at how to make it an economic engine of growth for the entire Africa and that’s the focus. The key is involving all the stakeholders” he said.

– Apr. 12, 2019 @ 17:50 GMT |