Jethro Ibileke/Benin
Osagie Okunbor, Chairman, Shell Companies in Nigeria and Managing Director of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC)
A total of 27 partnerships have been agreed by Nigerian and British companies under the auspices of the annual Nigeria-UK engagement programme sponsored by the Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo).
The partnerships were the outcome of several business summits held in Lagos, Abuja, London and Aberdeen.
According to a press statement issued and signed by Mr. Bamidele Odugbesan, Spokesperson to Shell Petroleum Development Company Ltd and made available to P.M. NEWS, the partnerships cover a wide range of oil and gas activities including engineering, maintenance, fabrication and support services.
Working closely with the United Kingdom Trade and Investment (UKTI), SNEPCo initiated the business summits in 2009,
The collaboration created 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 and has helped to improve local capacity in innovation and technology which has now been replicated in Kazakhstan and Iraq.
The press statement noted that about 90 percent of contracts in Shell Companies in Nigeria were awarded to Nigerian companies in 2014, just as the use of locally manufactured goods and Nigerian service providers creates employment opportunities in communities in which Shell companies operate and that 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.
Commenting on the partnership of UKTI and Shell when the UKTI led by the Director of Trade in Nigeria, Chris Maskell, paid him a courtesy call, Chairman, Shell Companies …Read More
Source:: PM Newspaper
