Shell Global Appoints Virgin Nigeria as Global Travel Partner

Virgin Nigeria Airways today announces with great pleasure the notification from Shell Global of its appointment as global travel partner for the 2009 – 2012 programme.

Shell Global, the global group of energy and petrochemicals companies with employees in more than 110 countries communicated its selection of Virgin Nigeria in November following the airline’s successful tender.

Making the disclosure about the appointment of Virgin Nigeria as the preferred travel supplier for Shell Global, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Conrad Clifford stated that the selection has further reinforced customers’ confidence on best practices by Virgin Nigeria which reiterates the airline’s commitment to the highest safety standards.

“This is absolutely fantastic news.” Conrad remarked, “Ours is a team that has worked tirelessly to ensure a world class airline straight from the heart of Africa. From a relationship with the domestic Shell company we have moved to a global partnership, it only underlines how far and how well we have come.”

Conrad further disclosed that with a February 1 start in view, all is already in motion to see this relationship take off smoothly across the current route network, providing a better domestic and regional connectivity.

Passengers will also be fed into Virgin Nigeria’s wider network through its partnership with other international global airlines via existing interline partnerships.

It will be recalled that Virgin Nigeria already has a successful relation with Shell Nigeria, retaining the brand as one of its corporate clients. With this new development, Virgin Nigeria joins an elite list of companies internationally that have been selected based on track record and proven competence over the years, to partner with one of the world’s most respected corporate brands.

The appointment of Virgin Nigeria as the preferred travel partner of Shell Global is coming at a time that Virgin Nigeria is consolidating its operations to harness its desire to effectively drive traffic through its Lagos hub.

Virgin Nigeria has over time been resolute in adhering to globally recognized safety standards as evident in its successful completion of the intensive IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA).

By her listing in the IOSA Directory, the airline was certified to undertake audit sharing with other airlines, which has increased its code-share and interline business opportunities with other IOSA compliant airlines worldwide.

Oando Wins 2008 NSE Award

Oando has won the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Presidential Merit Award for the Best Quoted company in the Downstream Petroleum Marketing Sector.

Oando also won the award between 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2006 and the present 2008. The company also won the coveted best quoted company on the NSE in 2003 and 2004.

The NSE based Oando’s qualification on the company’s adherence to post-listing requirements and other indices of corporate governance, financial performance and return on investment to its shareholders.

The statement added that Oando fulfilled several criteria including satisfactory compliance with statutory requirements; compliance and adherence to listing and post-listing requirements of the NSE; readability and creativity and comprehensiveness of annual reports and accounts; financial performance/return on investment; and proper conduct of annual general meeting.

Nigeria: Obat Oil CEO Bags Award

In recognition of his achievements in both business and academic fields, the Oxford Association of Management, Oxford, England has awarded Dr. Frederick Enitiolorunda Obateru Akinruntan, CEO, Obat Oil with Doctor of Business Administration Business Management (Strategic Business Management).

Akinruntan was born in Jirinwo, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State. He attended Ambrose Alli University, Ibadan campus (now lead City University, Ibadan) where he obtained his first degree in Business Administration with second class upper and Advanced Diploma in Business Administration at Centre for Management and Information Technology, Ibadan in 2001.

He got an awarded as Doctor of Business Adminstration (DBA) from the Oxford Institute of Management, UK, Honourary Doctor in Philosophy (Bus, Admin), Staton University, Tampa, Florida U.S.A and Honourary Doctor in Divinity, Staton University, Tampa Florida, U.S.A.

He has worked as a public servant at the Federal Ministry of Defence and he is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Management (MNIM) and a prominent member of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN). He is also a member of International Bunker Industry Association, Depot and Petroleum Product Marketers Association (DAPPMA), President, Riverine Communities Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (RICOPMAN), Fishermen Association of Nigeria, United States of American Department of Commerce, Atlanta, Georgia.

Akinruntan has entrenched himself as a successful businessman in Nigeria. His strings of achievements, despite loosing his father at a tender age, attested to his ingenuity, as a shrewd manager of human and material resources. He is the pioneer chairman, Joint Ondo State government/Ilaje on 13% Derivation Fund later called Ondo State Oil producing Areas development omission (OSAPADEC and former chairman, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation Committee, Ilaje Chapter.

Today, he sits atop a business conglomerate with interests in petroleum, shipping, construction, fishery, tourism, consultancy services and water production. His investments run into billions of naira.

Akinruntan is an astute entrepreneur, religious leader, community leader and philanthropist per excellence.

Nigeria: Oando Plc Takes Lubricant to Ghana

Oando Marketing Limited, a subsidiary of Oando Plc, has taken its array of lubricants which has already gained ground in Nigeria to Ghana. Read more

Nigeria: Ineec, Helmak Floats Scholarship Opportunity

The International Energy and Equipments Care Limited (Ineec), in conjunction with Helmak Education (hedc) are floating a maiden opportunity to enable students in the higher institutions in Nigeria, enjoy a scholarship throughout their higher education.

According to Ineec management, the duo companies partnered to bring smiles to the faces of students nationwide through the scholarship, due to the trauma some students go through in actualising their careers.

The Ineec Executive Director, Mr. Hakeem Wojuola, said “we are floating this opportunity in order to help students who cannot afford good education and those who have lost hope of furthering their career because of finance and we hope to do this yearly even to
international level.

“Our target audience are the secondary school students with minimum of 5 credits including English Language and Mathematics,
undergraduates in their ist and 2nd year in the university with a minimum of 2.0 GP and Graduates with a minimum of 2nd class lower who want to proceeds to a Masters degree.” he concluded.

Interested students should visit the education section of adverts.nigerianbulletin.com for more details and enquiries.

Ineec is a company that is duly registered in Nigeria as a Limited Liability company (formerly operated as KIMTECH SERVICES) working in the Western and Eastern area of Nigeria. The company is ranked among the top 20 Oil and Gas equipment contractors.

Its core project includes importation, sales and distributions, repairs, installations and maintenance of petroleum equipments and to provide technical support services to the downstream petroleum sector. The main source of the growth of Ineec over the past 15 years has been repeat business and referral work from previous clients. And it is the sole partner of Energy and petroleum Company of South Korea (EPCO).

SNEPCO Appoints New Managing Director

Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO), a subsidiary of Shell Nigeria, has appointed Chike Onyejekwe as the new Managing Director. Onyejekwe, a geologist, was before his new office, the Onshore & Shelf Exploration Manager with about 30 years experience in exploration and production activities.

In his latest assignment, he will lead a company which made Nigeria’s first ever deepwater discovery. SNEPCO has since 2005 also successfully operated the Bonga field, Nigeria’s first major deepwater production by deploying cutting-edge technology and world-class safety and operating standards.

Read more

Total Nigeria to Sign $3bn to Upgrade OML 58

In order to meet the government’s objective of boosting both industrial and domestic gas supply while complying with the Gas Flare Out policy, Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, has concluded plans to sign a contract of $3 billion to upgrade its OML 58 project.

Mr. Fred Ohwahwa, Total E&P Corporate Affairs Manager, noted that the contract which is located in Egi community in the ONELGA of Rivers State, would be signed with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the senior JV partner and the major JV of contractors including; SAIPON, PONTICELLI, SAIPEM and DESICON who are billed to handle the main EPSCC contract.

In furtherance of achieving the project, about 1.5 million man-hours would be deployed locally.

The aim of the project is to enhance the security and asset integrity of the operating environment, raise the bar in respect of safety for workers and members of the host community and meet other national objectives in the oil and gas sector.

According to the statement released, the upgrade of the OML 58 is the biggest intervention of its type since the company began production there in 1966.

Total Nigeria to Sign $3bn to Upgrade OML 58

In order to meet the government’s objective of boosting both industrial and domestic gas supply while complying with the Gas Flare Out policy, Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, has concluded plans to sign a contract of $3 billion to upgrade its OML 58 project.

Mr. Fred Ohwahwa, Total E&P Corporate Affairs Manager, noted that the contract which is located in Egi community in the ONELGA of Rivers State, would be signed with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the senior JV partner and the major JV of contractors including; SAIPON, PONTICELLI, SAIPEM and DESICON who are billed to handle the main EPSCC contract.

In furtherance of achieving the project, about 1.5 million man-hours would be deployed locally.

The aim of the project is to enhance the security and asset integrity of the operating environment, raise the bar in respect of safety for workers and members of the host community and meet other national objectives in the oil and gas sector.

According to the statement released, the upgrade of the OML 58 is the biggest intervention of its type since the company began production there in 1966.

Kotco Energy Places Private Offer to Expand Capital Base

Owing to the need to invest more in IT, capital asset acquisition as well as expand its business to other states in Nigeria, Kotco Energy Limited, a manufacturing, servicing and supply of transformers in Nigeria, has placed a private offer to boost its capital base to N3 billion.
The offer shows an ordinary shares of N1.00 each at N3.00 per share for N649,028,000. Pre-offer capitalisation stood at 1,112,916,000 while at the end of the offer, capitalisation is projected to be 3,060,000,000. Kotco has also authorised share of N1,020 billion with issued and fully paid up share of N370,972,000 ordinary shares of N1.00 each. Read more

West African Ventures invests in oil & gas facilities

 West African Ventures Limited (WAV) an oil & gas firm in Nigeria has invested over N150 billion in the acquisition of floating deepwater assets and land-based fabrication yard as well as other support facilities to aid its operations in the region.The facilities, according to the company, were required for the fabrication/construction and subsequent installation of platforms, pipelines, risers, manifolds and others in shallow and deepwater locations along the West African coast.

The massive investments would position the company to overcome the not unusual handicap of indigenous companies and to compete favourably with foreign contractors in the upstream sub-sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

WAV facilities include seven offshore Dynamically Positioned (DP3) derrick/lay/accommodation vessels as well as, installation barges, anchor handling and towing vessels, cranes, machine shops and fabrication facilities.

Commercial Director of the company, Mr. Olawale Salako said that the investment of over N150 billion became necessary to capture the opportunities created by the Nigerian content policy launched by the Federal Government in 2004.

This, he said, made the company expand the scope of its operations from the onshore and shallow waters into the deepwater areas so as to boost the participation of Nigerian companies in the sub-sector.

“We are taking a leading role in the provision of construction and installation services in the shallow and deepwater sectors along the West African Coast (from Nigeria to Angola) as well as the Middle East and as far away as Australia.

“We have made huge investments in sophisticated floating assets and onshore support facilities but so far we have not yet received sufficient encouragement and support from the multinational oil and gas companies that operate in our own Nigerian backyard, because they still prefer to deal with their traditional contractors from abroad to the detriment of the new and young Nigerian contractors,” he said.

WAV is part of the Sea Trucks Group (STG) which owns and operates, throughout the Niger Delta, up to 200 units of inshore vessels since 1982 and the STG diversifies its operations into the offshore market in 1998 with its first Anchor Handling Tug (5000Hp) with fleet number Walvis 1 and a total of 18 of such vessels with fleet names Walvis 1 - 18 were built ranging from 4000 to 8000Hp.

Salako also seeks Federal Government’s support, on preferential basis that would enable local companies to be seriously considered during the tender bidding processes with subsequent award of contracts, so that their huge investments would not go down the drain but deliver a reasonable return to the Nigerian entrepreneurs who are not afraid to put their money in the industry.

The group, in 2003 initiated a programme on new vessel buildings under the Jascon fleet name. To date, 36 out of 50 new vessels have already been delivered into the West African oil and gas market. These vessels feature installed capacities ranging from 4,000 to 42,000 hp.

Continuing, Salako said that the arrival recently in the Sea Trucks Fabrication/Supply yard in Onne of Jascon 28, a new DP3 accommodation/construction vessel, is part of the company’s plans to boost its deepwater capabilities which will bring on stream a total of seven deepwater pipelay/construction vessels before the end of 2010.

The Minister of State for Energy (Gas), Mr. Emmanuel Odusina had commissioned in Onne the Jascon 28 DP3 Accommodation vessel which has length of 111 metres (m), breadth of 30.48m and hull height of 6.71m on which is installed a six story superstructure with one each of operating bridge aft and navigation bridge forward with helideck c/w refueling facilities on top. The Jascon 28 also features a computer controlled telescopic gangway of 42m.

So far the STG has delivered into the Nigerian market the Jascon 30 on contract to Chevron’s Agbami field since May 1, 2008 and now the Jascon 28 on contract to Total’s AKPO field since September 13, 2008. The other deepwater construction as well as well-intervention vessels expected to commence operations during 2009 are the Jascon 31 and 34 whilst Jascon 18 and 35 are scheduled to be delivered during 2010 by which time the STG shall have completed its current expansion programme.

Mr. Jacques Roomans, president of the Sea Trucks Group (STG), which is the parent company of WAV, said at the commissioning of the Jascon 28 that the company was facing a serious predicament because investments made by the company these past four years in the acquisition of deepwater DP3 vessels and onshore support facilities has failed to attract sufficient patronage from the multinational Joint Venture (JV) oil companies operating in the Nigerian Oil & Gas industry.

Besides, he noted that indigenous firms were being exposed to tremendous risks by multinationals who were not prepared to take-on any risks and demand that the indigenous contractors must bear all the risks associated with every contract, which ran counter to their global practice, even when that threatened the very existence of such indigenous contractors.

“Our greatest problem with these foreign oil companies is also their style of imposing their conditions upon indigenous contractors such as foreign laws, arbitration, bank guarantees and so much more on a take it or leave it basis as well as resolving disputes of any nature, whereby they refer all issues to their headquarters abroad instead of going to the NNPC or NAPIMS locally and with no consideration for local conditions associated with the execution of Nigerian projects in Nigeria,” he lamented.

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