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Tag: opts

  • NCDMB, OPTS seal pact on contracting cycle reduction

    The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and members of the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS), the umbrella body of international oil companies (IOCs) and some indigenous operating oil companies have signed a Service Level Agreement (SLA) aimed at shortening the protracted contracting cycle, which unduly delays take-off and completion of projects and leads to increased costs of such projects.

    The SLA, signed in Lagos yesterday, will commit the 28-member OPTS companies to comply with the provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, which essentially is to submit to the NCDMB documents such as their quarterly job forecasts, Nigerian content plans, bidders lists, Nigerian content evaluation criteria, Nigerian content technical bids, among other relevant information in relation to oil and gas industry contracting and procurement cycles.

    The Board also pledged to respond on specific timelines, noting that if it fails to meet the set deadlines, the companies can proceed with their tendering processes after duly informing the Board.

    NCDMB Executive Secretary, Simbi Wabote signed on behalf of the Board, while ExxonMobil Nigeria Managing Director, Mr. Paul McGrath signed on behalf of the OPTS. Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) Managing Director, Mr. Massimo Insulla; Chevron Managing Director, Mr. Jeff Ewing and Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Managing Director, Mr. Nicolas Terraz witnessed the event.

    Other industry leaders participated in the event as well as the prior meeting to discuss areas of collaboration with operators and the NCDMB on reducing the duration of industry tendering process. They included Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) Commercial Director, Mr. Martin Foley, who represented the company Managing Director and the Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Roland Ewubare.

    The SLA with the OPTS is sequel to the one entered between the Board and the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG) in May 2017, which was the first between a regulator and another entity in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

    Wabote explained at the event that the SLA with the OPTS was in furtherance of the Board’s efforts to meet the target set by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu for the industry contracting cycle to be shortened to six months. Through the efforts of the NCDMB, the cycle had been cut significantly to 14 months from 24-36 months.

    He stressed that oil and gas industry operations are time sensitive, adding that a shortened contracting cycle would cut the cost of projects considerably.

    He noted that the SLA signed with the NLNG had improved the turnaround time of approvals between the two establishments, informing that the Board was working to sign a similar agreement with the Indigenous Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG).

    ExxonMobil Managing Director thanked the Executive Secretary for the wonderful initiatives he has introduced since assuming office a year and half ago, noting that OPTS members contributed in the SLA development and they will ensure compliance.

  • NCDMB, OPTS seal pact on contracting cycle reduction

    The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and members of the umbrella body of international oil companies (IOCs) – Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) and some indigenous oil firms – have signed a Service Level Agreement (SLA) aimed at shortening  contracting cycle, which delays take-off and completion of projects, leading to increased costs.

    The SLA, which was signed in Lagos, commits the 28-member OPTS companies to comply with the provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, essentially to submit to the NCDMB documents, like their quarterly job forecasts, Nigerian Content plans, bidders lists, Nigerian Content Evaluation Criteria and Nigerian Content technical bids, among other relevant information in relation to oil and gas industry contracting and procurement cycles.

    The Board also pledged to respond on specific timelines, noting that if it fails to meet the set deadlines, the companies can proceed with their tendering processes after duly informing the Board.

    The Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Simbi Wabote, signed for the Board, while the Managing Director of ExxonMobil Nigeria,  Paul McGrath signed on behalf of the OPTS. The Managing Director of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), Massimo Insulla, his Chevron counterpart, Jeff Ewing and that of Total Exploration and Production Nigeria, Nicolas Terraz, witnessed the event.

    Other industry leaders that participated in the event as well as a prior meeting to discuss areas of collaboration with operators and the NCDMB on reducing the duration of industry tendering process included the Commercial Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Mr. Martin Foley, who represented the Managing Director of the company and the Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Roland Ewubare.

    The SLA with the OPTS is sequel to the one entered between the Board and the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG) in May 2017, which was the first between a regulator and another entity in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

    Wabote said the SLA with the OPTS was in furtherance of the Board’s efforts to meet the target set by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, for the industry contracting cycle to be shortened to six months. Through the efforts of the NCDMB, the cycle had been cut significantly to 14 months from 24-36 months.

    He said operations of the oil and gas industry were time sensitive, adding that a shortened contracting cycle would cut the cost of projects.

    He noted that the SLA signed with the NLNG had improved the turnaround time of approvals between the two establishments, informing that the Board was working to sign a similar agreement with the Indigenous Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG).

    ExxonMobil Managing Director thanked the Executive Secretary for the wonderful initiatives he had introduced since assuming office a year and half ago. He stated that the OPTS members contributed in the development of the SLA and they will ensure compliance.

  • Osinbajo to speak at OPTS’ business anniversary

    Osinbajo to speak at OPTS’ business anniversary

    Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, will be the keynote speaker at the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) business event to mark its 55th anniversary.

    OPTS is the oldest and foremost sectorial group for operators in the upstream oil and gas industry, and an arm of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

    The event, which will hold on November 2, at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, will feature discussions that will help move the oil and gas industry forward.

    With the theme Nigeria, An Investor Friendly Destination,’ the event is to discuss strategies to attract investments in the upstream oil & gas industry as well as showcase the OPTS and its achievements since 1962.

    OPTS Chairman and Managing Director and Chief Executive of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), Mr. Osagie Okunbor, said the event, apart from commemorating OPTS’s 55th anniversary, would help attract more investment to the industry.

    “The upstream oil & gas industry is very important to our country as it generates up to 90 per cent of our foreign exchange earnings. So, it is one of the most important sectors of our economy and we want to build an OPTS group that is well-placed to contribute to policies and laws that ensure that this sector of our economy works very well,” Okunbor said.

    He added that OPTS member-firms are proud of their achievements and contributions to the Nigerian economy over the years and are ready to contribute to the continued growth of the industry and Nigeria despite the current challenges in the global markets.

    Aside from the Vice President, Prof. Osinbajo, a number of other notable speakers from Nigeria and the global energy sector are also billed to attend the event. They include the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, the Minister of Trade & Investment, Dr. Okey Enelamah, the Chairman of Dubri Oil and first indigenous Chairman of OPTS, Dr. Uduimo Itsueli, Dr. Tim Okon, Special Adviser, Fiscal to the Hon. Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, Managing Director and Chief Executive, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, and the Leader, McKinsey Oil & Gas Practice, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Mr. Occo Roelofsen.

    The OPTS is a sub-group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) and is an umbrella association for local and foreign-owned companies registered in Nigeria who hold an Oil Prospecting Licence or Oil Mining Licence.

    From an initial three member-firm at inception, the OPTS has grown to 27 members, including some of the leading names in the Nigerian Upstream Oil and Gas industry and its members account for over 80 per cent of the production volumes in the industry.

  • NITEL: BPE opts for guided sale

    After  three botched attempts to sell the Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (Nitel), the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has resorted to guided liquidation to avoid selling the firm as scraps.

    It said the government owed it a duty to the people to ensure that NITEL is not sold in bits and pieces.

    BPE Director-General, Benjamin Dikki, in an interview with The Nation, said it was opting for guided liquidation because the option worked in the privatisation of the Nigeria Fertiliser Company  (NAFCOM), which is now operating as Notore. It was also used in Jebba Paper Mill and Savannah Sugar and these firms are flourishing.

    He said: “With the reforms and with the liberalisation of the sector, nobody remembers that there was a Nitel. We are not missing Nitel because the sector has been liberalised and competition has been introduced and there are players who are playing in the telecom sector.

    “Number two, the issue of mode of privatisation of Nitel is purely a legal matter. Nitel is owing over N400million in debts. If this company is to be run by government as some people have suggested, it means that government has to cough out money to resolve those liabilities. Why should government put down money to revive Nitel when Nitel is no longer a critical infrastructure in the Nigerian economy? If Nitel doesn’t come up again at all, Nigerians will still survive in terms of access to telecommunications. So, Nitel has ceased to be a critical asset. So government looked at all the options.

    “What are the benefits of putting money, the option of public private partnership (PPP), and other options resuscitating Nitel but all of them have investment implications for the government. Telecom is not a priority area for government now. It is better taken care of by the private sector. We now decided to take advantage of the Company and Allied Matters Act. What the Americans call Chapter 11. You go and file for the liquidation of Nitel. We didn’t want it to be liquidation, the typical liquidation style, where you sell one building, one cable to different parties. We call it guided liquidation because we want whoever buys Nitel and Mtel to still continue to run the telecom and not to extinguish Nitel from business.