* Honours Adams with Excellence Award
Sopuruchi Onwuka
Nigeria’s indigenous petroleum industry services group, Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), has commended Shell for supporting Nigerian content development.
The Nigerian Content policy which is supported by the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Development Development (NOGICD) Act of 210 requires operating companies to prioritize use of local contractors over foreign service providers for delivery of oil industry services.
Oracle Intelligence reports that Shell, given its size of operated assets in Nigeria has led implementation of the law which is tenaciously regulated by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
The PETAN group remains the greatest beneficiary of the local content policy in the industry.
Leaders of the group who appreciated high impact patronage from Shell presented an Award of Excellence to the Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd (SNEPCo) Ronald Adams.
The award which was handed over by PETAN Chairman Wole Ogunsanya during a courtesy call at SNEPCo office, describes the managing director as an “astute and visionary technocrat,” in apparent reference to his efforts to sustain the achievements of SNEPCo in deep-water production since he came into the role in October last year.
Wole said on Shell’s efforts to grow Nigerian content: “The history of local content in Nigeria is Shell. Apart from the fact that most of the people in the industry are ex-Shell, for some of us that work with the service companies, Shell gave us jobs that enabled us to build capacity. Shell has continued to play this role and PETAN remains ready to continue collaborating with Shell to raise local capacity.”
Adams expressed gratitude for the award, and commended PETAN member companies for contributing to the success of SNEPCo operations at Bonga “from first oil in 2005 to the production of the 1 billionth barrel in 2023.”
He said that investments by IOCs and independent producers in the energy industry would deliver lasting impact when organisations like PETAN leverage their experience and expertise for the overall development of the sector.
PETAN comprises over 100 indigenous technical oilfield service companies, with cumulative annual revenues running into millions of dollars. The organisation celebrated its 30th anniversary last year.
