Sopuruchi Onwuka

Chief Executive Officer of Zigma Energy Limited, Mrs Funmi Ogbue, has called for integrated growth agenda, industrial ecosystem and policy implementation strategies that propel transformation in the petroleum industry.

She specifically canvassed for development of industrialized operating base and the institutionalization of the Project 100 initiative of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in order to establish necessary baseline for national industry service standards.

Mrs Ogbue who is the pioneer President of Women in Energy Network (WIEN) also demanded gender equity policies that provide special considerations, enhance participation an provide ease of access for women-led businesses.

“As a champion of gender inclusion with the Women in Energy Network, I urge policies that drive women’s participation—through quotas, board diversity rules, and re-entry programs,” she stated.

Funmi who is also Chief Executive Officer of Jake Riley Limited, an industry training provider, said her industry group, the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN), also demands co-funded training and enforceable internships.

In emphasizing that Nigeria could build globally competitive petroleum service companies, she pointed out that the NCDMB’s Project 100 shows the potential that must now be institutionalized, industrialized, and scaled up “so companies like Zigma are not the exception but the standard.”

Mr Ogbue who went online with her debate experience at the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) said the transformative policies of the government hold the potential to align opportunity and ambition.

In citing the Project 100 initiative promoted by the NCDMB to select 100 high-potential Nigerian petroleum service and supply companies for growth transformation, Mrs Ogbue noted that the policy forms part of initiatives that transform the beneficiaries.

With the Project 100 initiative, the NCDMB had selected the companies from over 8,000 indigenous companies that registered with the industry’s joint qualification system for transformation into globally competitive enterprises.

Mrs Ogbue stated that the programme which copied the Norwegian model provided the benefits of training and global exposures. She added that all that is now required  is to provide the domestic industrial ecosystem to utilize the benefits of the initiative.

“At Zigma, we’ve been part of Project 100 for more than five years, benefitting from exposure at the Global Petroleum Show in Canada, staff training in subsea, project implementation, and access to funding.

“Our experience shows that when policy, opportunity, and ambition align, transformation is possible—but it requires an integrated, intentional approach. Norway’s success wasn’t just about oil—it was about building an industrial ecosystem: empowering Equinor to operate commercially, developing local suppliers into global players, investing in R&D, and enabling exports,” she pointed out.

For Nigeria to replicate this trajectory, she proposed, the country must adopt multi-year contracting models with local participation targets, to enable small and medium scale enterprises or SMEs to plan, invest, and specialize.

She also called for incentives for innovation, pointing at joint research and development funding, technology adaptation, and local IP development.

Mrs Ogbue stressed the need for development of industrial clusters that provide shared infrastructure hubs for SMEs, fabrication, testing, and logistics.

On creating export pathways, Mrs Ogbue canvassed support for regional expansion through export credit, standards training, and business development.

She also pointed at the persistent gaps that include market access, finance, and talent; and called for tiered bidding, preferential terms for Project 100 firms, and more transparent tendering.

On finance, Mrs Ogbue made case for low-interest financing, contract-backed guarantees, and dollar credit lines for imports.

On building specialist skills in subsea, instrumentation, and gas processes; she announced that Zigma just launched a Talent Hub. She called on industry partners to engage the talent hub on connecting jobs, training, mentors, and certification.