GRAMEN PETROSERVE: Creating Value, Delivering Global Standard Through Local Expertise
Gramen Petroserve Nigeria Limited is a major player in the Nigerian oil and gas industry driven by the commitment to serve various clients in the industry. Over the years, the company has been actively involved in upstream and downstream production, as well as turnkey engineering and construction projects for the Nigerian oil and gas field developments.
According to the company’s managing director, Rt. Hon. Chevalier/Engr. Johnson Amen Aghedo, the benefits of the Local Content Act cannot be overstated. “The Local Content Act has enabled indigenous companies to participate in the delivery of projects in the oil and gas sector that were not available 15-20 years ago. This participation has increased our nation’s capability in engineering and construction,” he said.
Gramen Petroserve, a major player in the oil and gas industry that has been at the forefront of local content development for over 30 years, has maintained a reputation for engaging local manpower in project execution through partnerships with indigenous firms and the empowerment of local talents through skills development. “We also conduct trainings through registered Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN) approved training centers in order to meet the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) obligation. Our company’s strategy for operational success is to hire the best people for our projects, to train and retrain our employees, to invest in and collaborate with clients and partners,” he added.
On how the Act is achieving its mandate of backward integration and repositioning Nigeria as a leading economy in Africa, the astute CEO explained that the Act is having a positive impact on the Nigerian economy due to the opportunities the Act has provided for Nigerians and indigenous firms “to compete and provide services that international companies formerly provided, which in turn has brought about development in the Nigerian oil and gas industry where we no longer have to bring in expatriates. In addition, because of capacity built in-country, Nigerian-owned companies are taking on projects in other parts of the continent”, he said.
He urged the federal government to address the issue of insecurity head on in order to attract investors, provide access to loans and forex to indigenous companies, and increase infrastructure investment to ease industry operations. He also emphasized the importance of properly regulating contract awards based on merit.
LOLITE ENERGY: Completing Oil and Gas Projects Through In-Country Capacity
Lolite Energy Limited, founded in 2013, is Nigeria’s first integrated fasteners manufacturing and Fabrication Company. Over the years, the company has carved out a niche for itself in the design, manufacture, and supply of high-quality fasteners such as stud bolts, nuts, and washers for renewable energy, construction, and power, as well as the upstream, midstream, and downstream sub-sectors of the oil and gas industry.
Lolite’s business model is underpinned by a strong commitment to local content development, with plans to begin in-country manufacturing of all ranges of flanges, fittings (wrought, forged fittings, and OLET), and gaskets, process pipes, including the coupling of gas and instrument air compressors and dryer packages in ten years. The management team led by Jideofor Agbo, Managing Director/CEO and Bernardette Ukah, Senior Vice President, Operations speaks with The Guardian on how the NCD Act has improved indigenous participation and Lolite Energy’s role in creating value in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
Benefits of the Local Content Act to the Nigerian oil and gas industry
The Local Content Act has accelerated the growth of locally manufactured products for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. It has increased job opportunities for Nigerians, increased the value of locally produced goods, and enabled technology transfer to Nigerians, all of which have benefited the local economy as a whole.
Our primary strategy is to advocate for local content in the industry. We are a strong advocate for the inclusion of more indigenous companies in the industry, and we take part in all activities that promote local content. Local Content is a responsibility that we believe has a positive socioeconomic impact and makes good business sense.
How Lolite Energy is contributing to local content development
We have manufactured, procured, and delivered high quality fasteners such as stud bolts, nuts, and washers to companies such as Total Energies, Chevron, ALCON, ADDAX Petroleum, AGPC (Seplat and Nigeria Gas Company Joint Venture), SAIPEM and SCD JV Consortium, and Nigeria LNG Limited, to name a few. We take pride in being Nigeria’s fastener manufacturing leaders.
To better serve our clients, we build the capacity of local residents and businesses to ensure the availability of skilled labor and local materials, thereby reducing project times and costs. This opens up job and business opportunities in our host communities. It also helps our growth and ability to complete projects on time and on budget.
Challenges faced in the industry
Local manufacturers continue to struggle to compete with oil and gas vendors and foreign manufacturers. This is because of the perceived price disparity. However, for long-term profitability, stable and robust industries must be supported by the government. The industry will gain more confidence in the quality output and capability of our local manufacturers if they continue to support our Local Content providers.
The Government should create an allocation mechanism to support local manufacturers in the Oil and Gas Industry. This allocation formula will incentivize investment in local manufacturing by providing developers of projects who have high upfront costs and long lifetimes with direct protection from foreign competitors as well as importers. We believe there should be a pool of projects specifically allocated to verified local manufacturers. This will enable long term planning and attract more investments in the local manufacturing sector.
How Lolite is positioned for future opportunities
We anticipate the construction of new local refineries under the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act. Lolite is well-positioned to collaborate with these refineries in the production and supply of high-quality fasteners such as stud bolts, nuts, and washers. We can also provide pipes, pipe fittings, flanges, gaskets, valves, air compressors, and package dryers. Our products will provide high value to the industry at lower costs and shorter delivery timelines.
TREXM Chemicals: Powering the Oil and Gas Industry with Quality Chemicals and Specialty Fluids
TREXM Chemicals is a leading oilfield chemicals and specialty fluids company in Nigeria with a dynamic approach in developing innovative, end-to-end solutions that produce lasting value to our clients and community at large. Safety is at the core of our business and operations. We are committed to the health, safety and environment of our employees, clients and the communities in which we live and work, and responsibly meet our obligations to all stakeholders. TREXM Chemicals has been operating in the oil and gas industry with offices located at the major energy centres of Nigeria (Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri) and the U.S.A.
As an independent supplier of drilling fluids, production and specialty chemicals, the company has carved a niche for itself in the provision of an extensive range of chemical products and innovative solutions that service the oil and gas industry. Our services include- Drilling & Completion Fluids, Production & Specialty Chemicals. Our customers benefit from our regional presence and local resources. Our products are developed and formulated to world class standard maximizing local resources. TREXM equally offers its clients a differentiated solution by leveraging its strong OEM partnership and alliances, thereby ensuring that the brand stands out with its unique product offering.
Driven by the vision to introduce a competitive edge to the specialty chemicals market in Africa, TREXM is strategically positioned in developing solutions that are environmentally safe and serve client’s assets over an entire life cycle.
With a culture focused on integrity, quality service and corporate excellence, TREXM boasts of long-standing business contacts and strategic market insight through which it has developed the capacity to offer a wide range of technical services and products. We develop innovative solutions for high-performance specialty chemicals that help drive business success.
Through a dedicated sales force and strong supply chain, TREXM offers a simple business model which has in no small measure positioned the company to create value as a leading contributor to local content development in Nigeria. By paying attention to the needs of its partners and clients, the company has been consistent in identifying what is essential to help them become successful.
Its vibrant team made up of industry-defined Nigerians can recognize the challenges and opportunities faced by clients in today’s highly competitive and complex oil and gas markets. The team has been uncompromising in their bid to help partners achieve success by leveraging on extensive products and value-added technical services to deliver customised solutions to clients.
TREXM’s specialty products have proven to be essential in supporting businesses in avoiding the high costs of drilling and completing oil wells. These products are strategically designed to deliver real-time results to enhance productivity by optimising drilling and completion speed for early production and reduction of operating downtime.
The Managing Director of TREXM Chemical, Bolutife Odusanya speaks with The Guardian on how the company is driving productivity in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.
Benefits of the Local Content Act in the development of the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry
I believe the Act has been beneficial in maximizing and empowering the potential and capacity of Nigerian talents, resources and services. Indigenous players have become more intentional by including indigenous resources, services and talent in their business plans, management philosophy, project implementation and execution.
Furthermore, there are more opportunities for indigenous companies to leverage on the assets and resources in the international oil and gas space to add to local content. We have seen transactions in the space involving Nigerian companies buying equity and/or assets of international oil and gas companies.
A key factor to the success of the Act is its implementation in practice. The only way to drive this is with deliberate initiatives on implementation of the Act and holding of all stakeholders accountable. I applaud the recent stakeholder engagement forum held by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) following a consensus to conduct a gap analysis and provide recommendations for closure of gaps vis-a-vis manufacturing companies and selected manufacturing materials in the oil and gas industry. More initiatives like this set the right tone for holding stakeholders accountable on the role each body plays in the success of the Act.
Operational strategy as a leading chemicals and specialty fluids company in Nigeria
One of the key principles behind every successful business is its people. We have built a strong cross-functional team with vast experience in the chemicals and oil and gas industries. We also leverage on partnerships and have developed strong technical relations with major key players in the industry.
Additionally, we have been intentional with the expansion of our footprints and operational grounds across the nation and globally. As at today, we have successfully set up offices in the major energy centers of Port Harcourt, Warri and Lagos in Nigeria to effectively cater to the needs of our clients in these cities.
We also leverage on the use of state-of-the-art technology tools, stand up meetings and frequent in person operational meetings to boost the efficiency of our business operations. Furthermore, TREXM’s management structure is flexible and easily accessible. We encourage this as it fosters easy communication and decision making which makes it easy to respond to client’s issues in record time.
A core culture of TREXM as a business is a culture of commitment to listening and learning from our clients, accountability/responsibility and continuous improvement in everything that we do. A combination of these factors has contributed significantly to the operational success of TREXM.
Contribution to local content development TREXM
We are committed to playing our part in ensuring the success of the local content initiative in the oil and gas industry in our business strategy, resources and services.
To illustrate this, the TREXM Group has a workforce that consists of 100% Nigerian talents across our operational offices in the region. Our clients are able to leverage from our regional presence and local resources through our dedicated sales force and strong supply chain.
We also have Nigerian vendors and suppliers. To further deepen our contribution to local content, we purchased a Liquid Mud Plant which contains 100,000 bbl capacity and a grinding plant from a multinational company to increase our local capacity to deliver land, offshore and deep-water activities.
We will continue to contribute to the local content initiative as our vision is to introduce a competitive edge to the specialty chemicals market in the region by becoming the number one local producer and partner for sourcing customized specialty chemical products and solutions.
We purchased the asset of a leading multinational service company to achieve backward integration in our business. Initiatives such as this lead to more utilization of local resources, services, the creation of job opportunities and technology advancement in the country.
Companies are encouraged to adopt and implement their business strategies in furtherance of the Act and to play a part in the development of local content. I believe that if all industry stakeholders implement the mandates of backward integration, we can truly reposition Nigeria as the leading economy in Africa.
I must applaud the $300 million Nigerian Content Intervention Fund of the NCDMB in partnership with the Bank of Industry. Funds such as this provide the right backing to build the capacity and capabilities of Nigerian companies in the industry.
TREXM’s position in taking advantage of upcoming opportunities in the industry
TREXM has built capacity and has experienced significant growth in its operations, business structure, human capital, services, and partnerships with private and government entities in the oil and gas sector. We are well positioned to take advantage of the progression on the development of a more conducive business environment in the industry with improved effectiveness and accountability of government institutions. We will continue to play our part in deepening local content and other initiatives in the industry.