PETAN Seeks Support to Increase Local Participation in Petroleum Sector

Peter Uzoho
The Chairman of Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Mr. Bank Anthony Okoroafor, has called on policymakers and regulators to jointly work towards increasing the participation of indigenous companies in the country’s oil and gas industry by providing enabling policies and favourable business environment.

Okoroafor, made the call in Lagos, while delivering his welcome address at the 2019 PETAN Oil Industry Achievement Award, with the theme, ”Oilfield of the Future: Operational Excellence.”

He said the association remained committed to partnering with all stakeholders to create the enabling environment for the industry to thrive, stressing that PETAN was formed to utilise the technical know-how acquired in the oil and gas industry by Nigerians as a springboard for economic change and technological advancement of the nation.

He explained that PETAN, in 2010, developed a 4-C Strategic Plan – Capacity building, Capitalisation, Collaboration and Consolidation – to identify and leverage capacity gaps from the Local Content Act, Consolidate and expand end-to-end capacities to deliver across the value chain.

Okoroafor said: ”PETAN will be 30 years in March 2020 and we will be rolling out the drums and we will be inviting the industry to celebrate with us in working with NCDMB and the National Assembly to increase retained earnings from five per cent to more than 27 per cent; equipment ownership (drilling rigs, logging equipment, slickline, cementing, coiled tubing, nitrogen, stimulation, well heads, Well testing, pipe laying) to more than 90 per cent.

”Vessel ownership from less than 10 per cent to more than 40 per cent, Fabrication tonnage from nothing to above 60,000, barite processing, pipe coating, pipe laying, Operation & Maintenance, FPSO integration, Engineering design.”

He also explained that the theme of the programme was aimed at re-emphasising the long-standing PETAN philosophy which centres around operational excellence, for the growth of the industry.
According to him, ”that was why we initiated the PETAN Seal of quality to standardize our operations and certify our people in particular and the industry in general.

“The process has fully commenced, and a number of our members have been certified in conjunction with Bureau Veritas with issuance of certificates, others will be certified in the coming days.”

Highlighting the importance of Local Content in the life of a nation, the PETAN boss, said it ”makes economic sense, creates genuine players with proven/verifiable track record and reputation to protect, growth of local expertise and know-how, local community interruptions will be minimised and create employment and development.”

Okoroafor, however, announced that the groundbreaking ceremony for the association’s secretariat building project in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, would hold by first quarter of 2020.

The highpoint of the occasion was the instituting of a professional chair at the University of Port Harcourt in honour of Emeritus Prof. Gabriel Kayode Falade, in recognition of his great investments and contributions to the nation’s oil and gas industry.

Also, some oil and gas companies as well as financial institution bagged awards in different categories at the occasion. Some of them were: Total E&P (Egina), Local Content Leader of the Year; Sterling Bank, Local Content Bank of the Year; Seplat, Local Content Operator of the Year; and Shell, Industry Achievement Award, among others.