Business Opportunity Manager, SNEPCo’s Bonga South-West Aparo Project, Olaposi Fadahunsi, has disclosed that Shell companies in Nigeria awarded contracts worth $1.98 billion to businesses in 2023 in continuing effort to develop Nigerian content in the oil and gas industry.
Fadahunsi, representing SNEPCo Managing Director, Ron Adams, disclosed this to participants at the opening of the 13th edition of the Practical Nigerian Content forum in Yenagoa, Bayelsa.
He added that several benefitting companies had taken advantage of the patronage to expand their operations and improve their expertise and financial strength.
He restated the commitment of Shell companies in Nigeria toward the development of Nigerian companies through contract awards and scaling up of expertise.
The four-day conference with the theme “Deepening the Next Frontier for Nigerian Content Implementation” afforded the hosts, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), and participating companies reviewing progress on the development of Nigerian content pertaining to the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Development (NOGICD) Act since it was enacted in 2010.
‘Shell companies in Nigeria participated at the forum with a strong message of support for Nigerian companies, having awarded contracts worth $1.98 billion to the businesses in 2023 in continuing effort to develop Nigerian content in the oil and gas industry.
“The contracts, awarded by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), and Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG) present a three percent increase from the 2022 performance of $1.92 billion,” he said.
Fadahunsi explained that Shell companies execute a large proportion of their activities through contracts with third parties, pointing out that Nigeria-registered companies have been key beneficiaries of the policy aimed at powering Nigeria’s progress.
He commended the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for ensuring compliance with the Nigerian Content Act.
In addition to contract awards, he said that Shell companies had implemented projects under the Human Capital Development Fund, including the Niger Delta University learning centre and digital library project and the Federal University of Technology Information Technology Hub.
Both projects, he said, were inaugurated this year in collaboration with SPDC Joint Venture partners – Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), TotalEnergies, and Nigeria Agip Oil Company Limited (NAOC).
Other projects, he said, included the University of Lagos Geosciences Centre of Excellence, Nigeria Diving School, and funding of ongoing research at the University of Ibadan to develop a synthetic-based drilling fluid.
Fadahunsi added: “Shell Companies in Nigeria also continue to develop indigenous manpower through scholarship programmes with over 3,772 undergraduate and 109 Niger Delta postgraduate scholarships since 2016.
“As we speak, beneficiaries of the 13th edition of the Niger Delta Post Graduate Scholarship awards are pursuing their studies in the United Kingdom. The employability rate of the scheme is high, with over 98% of the graduates who won the awards securing employment in the oil and gas industry, academia, and Information Technology, among other sectors, within one year of completing their studies. Nigerian content will continue to be an important part of Shell operations.”
