Engineering Automation Technology Limited (EATECH), a local engineering firm, has called for an increase in patronage from International Oil Companies (IOCs) on products and services offered by indigenous firms as that would boost the capacity of local firms in the oil industry.
Managing Director of the company, Mr Emmanuel Okon, Okon spoke at the company’s fifth anniversary in Lagos.
He noted that poaching doesn’t encourage growth of human capital base of local firms.
He said low patronage of products and services introduced into the industry by local firms, impedes the development of some local firms.
Okon also called for urgent intervention of the Federal Government in the act of poaching in the services sector of the industry. He said that it is vital for the government to help stop poaching of skilled Nigerian workers from indigenous firms by foreign oil and gas companies.
He said with poaching and the ever-present problem of difficulty in sourcing for funds, the survival of most local contracting firms is slim.
Okon noted that his company had lost a substantial number of trained staff to multinational oil and gas companies.
He therefore demanded that payments for projects executed by local firms executing projects for major oil companies to be at par with what foreign contracting firms obtained.
Okon said despite the poaching constraint, it was imperative for local firms to increase funding to train more future human capital in our tertiary institutions as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility.
“Funding presents itself as the major factor facing most indigenous entrepreneurs in running successful businesses in the oil and gas industry,” said Okon.
“Indigenous companies providing similar services like their foreign counterparts are paid less thereby affecting negatively their ability to sustain competent and certified personnel especially those trained by them.
“The twin evil of poaching trained personnel by multinational companies and sustaining these trained personnel by local companies is a challenge which requires the intervention of regulators,” he added.
Okon, who identified the high remuneration of staff by multinational firms, noted that they were able to pay higher salaries because they usually got more income earnings from even similar contracts or jobs performed by local firms.
He said to improve the manpower base for local firms, despite the poaching by foreign firm, EATECH had to inaugurate an award (that goes with N100,000 gift) for the best graduating student of the Electrical and Electronic Department of the Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic, in Ikot Ekpene.
Okon lauded the local content policy of the government, saying it had enabled his company established five years ago, to undertake projects in an industry hitherto reserved for foreign multinational.
The industry is regulated mainly by the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), the Local Content Monitoring and Development Board and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
Okon said it was important for these regulators to “implement radical but careful tripartite relationship in providing guarantees for access to project specific finances especially to indigenous companies whose services are listed on NIPEX.”
He said this option would provide alternative or additional comfort to banks where genuine indigenous companies cannot provide additional collateral in addition to domiciliation.
Engineering Automation Technology started operations in November 2007 with seven staff and Saipem Contracting Nigeria Limited as pioneer customer.
At present, the local firm provides services to other multinationals. They include ExxonMobil Group; Total Upstream; Delattre Bezons Limited; Aveon Offshore Nigeria; and ZB Joint venture Limited.
The company holds the ISO: 9001:2008 Certification.