Shell: Nigerian, British firms agree on 27 partnerships

ITRealms:

Twenty Seven (27) partnerships have been entered between Nigerian and British companies under the annual Nigeria-UK engagement programme sponsored by the Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), reports ITRealms. 

The Corporate Media Relations Manager at Shell Nigeria, Precious Okolobo said in a press statement made available to ITRealms that the revelation came during a courtesy visit by the United Kingdom Trade Initiative (UKTI) led by the Director of Trade in Nigeria, Chris Maskell, to the chairman of Shell Company, Osagie Okunbo, noted the partnerships cover a wide range of oil and gas activities including engineering, maintenance, fabrications and support services and were the outcome of several business summits held in Lagos, Abuja, London and Aberdeen.

Okolobo also said that working closely with the United Kingdom Trade and Investment (UKTI), SNEPCo initiated the business summits in 2009, creating valuable opportunities for Nigerian and British companies to collaborate to close the technical gaps that exist in the oil and gas industry as a result of the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010. 

“The collaboration has helped to improve local capacity in innovation and technology. This model has now been replicated in Kazakhstan and Iraq,” Okolobo said.

Chairman, Shell Companies in Nigeria and Managing Director of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) Osagie Okunbor, was quoted as saying “We are pleased with the progress that has been made with the collaboration of UKTI and Shell. We will continue to support the initiative given the benefits and potential to drive growth in the Nigerian economy.”

For Mr. Maskell the partnerships have significantly increased the scope of operations for both the British and Nigerian companies and could only get better as they explore more areas of co-operation.

“We are grateful for the continued support of Shell for this initiative,” he said.

A recent reform of the programme ensures that Nigerian suppliers now take the lead in deciding potential UK companies that they would like to meet and partner with for project delivery in areas of key needs. The 2015 Nigeria-UK business summit is slated for this month (July) in Lagos where UK companies will be looking to take advantage of prequalification and tendering activities scheduled for 2015/16.

 About 90 per cent of contracts in Shell Companies in Nigeria were awarded to Nigerian companies in 2014. The use of locally manufactured goods and Nigerian service providers creates employment opportunities in communities in which Shell companies operate.

 

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