Leemon Ikpea: Nigeria’s Gas Revolution Is Upon Us

Trailblazing Dr Leemon Ikpea, Chief Executive Officer of Lee Engineering & Construction Company Limited, is a humble, proud Nigerian and a poster boy for business integrity and national development. The 65-year-old oil magnate was among the few Nigerians given the national honours award on October 11. Bayo Akinloye writes that beyond the glitz and glamour of the event are the grit and greatness that Ikpea always exudes in a classy fashion.

Futuristic in vision, level-headed in temperament, and principled in integrity, Dr Leemon Ikpea, the Chief Executive Officer of Lee Engineering & Construction Company Limited, in self-effacing grandeur, stood beside the president of the most populous black nation. Both prominent figures exchanged warm smiles and shook each other’s hands. Then, with a glint in his eyes, President Muhammadu Buhari said these words sotto voce to the oil and gas mogul at the Presidential Villa in the company of the late Olu of Warri, among other dignitaries:

“Thank you, Dr Leemon, for what you’re doing for Nigeria and humanity!”  The audience nodded in approval. That was four years ago.
Last Tuesday, the unassuming oil magnate was in the presence of the Nigerian leader at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, for the National Honours Awards Investiture. With a knowing look and irrefutable trust, the president honoured Ikpea with one of the highest national awards in the country. For his devotion to humanity and unflinching commitment to national development, the president bestowed on the oil and gas veteran the national honour of the Commander of the Niger (CON) amidst a resounding ovation.

“I feel very elated that I have been honoured by my country. I thank everyone who deemed me worthy of this auspicious glory, and that gratitude comes with a sincere sense of further commitment and responsibility,” Ikpea told THISDAY. “It comes with additional responsibility, even though I have been shouldering this responsibility for more than three decades.”
Always pushing the boundaries, seeking the greater good of “my fatherland” and people, Ikpea, with a grin, vowed to “redouble” his efforts. Trusted and respected globally, the founder of Lee Engineering is a recipient of dozens of international and national awards. His ebullience for people and development remains nonpareil.

“My commitment to Nigeria’s economic and human capital development is non-negotiable. I have been a beneficiary of scores of international and national awards. Every award I have received is special. And this is very special too,” stated Ikpea in a momentary reflection on the October 11 grandeur.
Serious-minded and always selfless, he sees the national honour as “a special call.”
“It is a call to serve humanity against the backdrop of my own grass-to-grace story. That experience, knowing where the shoe pinches, nudges me every day, every moment I see the opportunity to transform lives, not in a flash of handouts but in adequately empowering people to continue the cycle of humanity,” the Lee Engineering group managing director explained.

He thinks the “greatest beauty lies in the fact that these beneficiaries are not indebted to me but to humanity to nurture others for the good of society.”
In the effervescence of the auspicious occasion, Ikpea’s focus remained on deepening the country’s success stories, facing the challenges and building bigger frontiers for national prosperity, stressing the matchless contributions of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to strengthening the hands of local players in the oil and gas industry.

“The NCDMB are a group of Nigerians brimming with patriotism and selfless spirit,” Ikpea noted. “They’re highly skilled with international technical expertise.”
Established in 2010 by the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, the NCDMB is to make procedures that will guide, monitor, coordinate, and implement the provisions of the NOGICD Act, signed into law on April 22, 2010, by then-President Goodluck Jonathan, giving birth to the NCDMB.
“I have been in this industry for 44 years,” added Ikpea. “Out of these 44 years, the last decade or so, the board has continued to place a premium on local oil and gas players, increasing their technical know-how and capacity to increase Nigeria’s commonwealth.”

As a vibrant local player in a dynamic global industry, Lee Engineering has stepped up to the plate by acquiring marginal fields. By the time the company starts production, it will not need to import many resources into the country because it will use equipment manufactured in its fabrication plant, which is cost-effective. Ikpea will bring to bear his 14 years’ experience in the construction industry. So is his leading indigenous EPCOM (Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Operation, and Maintenance) company, the Lee Engineering and Construction Company Limited which has achieved several milestones and received numerous commendations, awards, and certificates from both local and international organisations and agencies.

Delighted about the federal government’s unrelenting efforts to plug the leaks in the oil sector, Ikpea singled out NNPC Chief Executive Officer Melee Kyari’s unwavering determination to stem the tide of oil theft in Nigeria.
“The NNPC CEO is doing fantastically well in curtailing oil theft. Nigerians should praise him for what he is doing to put Nigeria’s oil industry in good shape to reinforce investors’ confidence in the country and increase national earnings,” Ikpea noted. “It took his tremendous efforts in collaboration with local security to uncover the extensive stealing at the Forcados. I am convinced his latest effort has sent a message to economic saboteurs that it will no longer be business as usual.”

The oil magnate reiterated that “Nigerians earnestly need individuals like Kyari to sanitise the industry. With oil theft and other wastages blocked, leading to an increase in our oil exports, we can be rest assured that there will be enough funds to execute capital projects, among other things.”
Soft-spoken, Ikpea’s voice was tinged with optimism and excitement when he talked about the potential strides of Nigeria in the gas industry amid a challenging atmosphere that pervades Europe as Russia continues its violent aggression against Ukraine.

“Nigeria is exploring several opportunities in the gas sector. Nigeria and Morocco recently signed an agreement on a gas pipeline project linking Nigeria to Morocco, which will also supply West Africa and Europe. This 6,000-kilometer project will cross 13 African countries along the Atlantic coast,” said Ikpea. “From there, it will reach other parts of the world. That’s a huge step. In addition, other projects are going on in the country, including that of the NLNG.”
Notwithstanding that, he understands the country requires a huge financial outlay to develop the oil and gas sector fully and disclosed that the federal government and the NNPC are committed to exploring the gas potential.

“There are other gas projects about to take off. This is the time for gas; it’s the gas revolution,” Ikpea declared. “The federal government is very serious about it; the NNPC is serious about it too. Nigeria is in the gas revolution. Nigeria has started, and the NNPC has started.”
The oil and gas sector is one of the most critical sectors in the country’s economy, accounting for more than 90 per cent of its exports and 80 per cent of the federal government’s revenue. It is the ninth-largest global gas reserves with over 200 Tcf. As of 2019, Nigeria had the largest oil and gas reserves in Africa, with around 37 billion barrels of oil and 5.4 trillion cubic meters (bcm) of gas. With a production of 2.11 million barrels per day in 2019(approximately 25 per cent of the total output in Africa) Nigeria continues to dominate Africa’s oil production.

Despite the uncertainties and challenges in the sector, Lee Engineering has witnessed phenomenal growth over the years, demonstrating to other local players how they should conduct oil and gas businesses. The company’s head honcho admits his organisation’s excelling principles are based on so-called old-fashioned principles: godliness, hard work, honesty, and integrity.

“The least product of hard work is dignity,” said Ikpea. “The satisfaction that you work for what you earn. Closely related to that is integrity. One must have integrity. You must be known not just for being hard-working but for letting integrity permeate every process of your hard work and operations.”
For him and Lee Engineering, integrity is the key, in addition to the company’s technical know-how.

“For us, integrity is not a concept. It is who we are. With integrity, every business partner, client, supplier, or vendor looks for you because they trust you. Who will do business with you if you are not trusted? Integrity is our watchword. We run an honest business,” he explained. “We have honest and hard-working staff. We are not honest and hard-working some of the time. We are honest and hard-working all the time. The company is transparent. For almost 30 years that we have been in business, there is no stain on our name. Our dedicated staff have ensured that. I have used my exemplary life of honesty, hard work, integrity, and transparency to demonstrate to them how invaluable those values are. They share the dream of the company and run with it.”

Founded on November 11, 1991, Ikpea’s organisation has become a conglomerate. Today, the group deals in retail, tourism, aviation, and manufacturing, including exploration and production. It has a fabrication workshop measuring 2,515sqm, complete with blasting/painting bays and state-of-the-art equipment. The company, Lee Engineering Group and Allied Companies Limited (including Lee Engineering, Tribet Ltd [travels and tours], Tribet Aviation, Tribet Purified Waters, and Lee Oasis), has at least 2,000 employees.

Ikpea’s organisation does more than create wealth and value. As the group’s CEO, he sees to it personally that the less privileged are empowered. He considers philanthropy a “gift from God,” establishing a foundation, Agbonjagwe Leemon Ikpea Foundation (ALIF). The foundation has trained students, the majority of whom are orphans. As of 2019, the foundation has cared for many young children and produced 119 graduates, including dozens of medical doctors, etc.
With an office at inception in Warri, Lee Engineering Group has acquired the technical capabilities to execute major projects in the industry. The company still has its operational base in Warri, Delta State, then, the Port Harcourt branch office, and headquarters in Lagos. Its overseas offices are in the United Kingdom, Italy and the United States of America (Houston).