As part of efforts to en

courage Nigerian content development, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has organised a business parley in Abuja that brought together more than 50 Indian and Nigerian companies to explore areas of collaboration and partnership.

A statement by Shell’s Corporate Media Relations Manager, Tony Okonedo, said the business summit, which held February 24, and included 10 Indian firms, has set the stage for joint ventures that would create more opportunities in the volume of trade between India and Nigeria now worth about $9billion (about N1.4 trillion) every year.

Okonedo quoted the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Engr. Ernest Nwapa as saying at the opening ceremony of the summit that, “the business summit is a welcome opportunity to help drive new partnerships.”

Nwapa stressed that “the growth recorded in the Nigerian economy has not resulted in employment opportunities, so we are looking for partners to set up manufacturing bases in Nigeria, thereby creating jobs and developing talent and technology. SPDC has done well in providing the connection – last year, it was China, now it is India.”

Also speaking, General Manager, Materials, NAPIMS, Engr. Hussaini Tahir, who outlined the opportunities in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria, reechoed Nwapa’s remarks, adding that, “the fundamentals are right at this time because, in addition to the huge resource base of oil and gas, investors can expect to benefit from ambitious reform programmes and tax incentives and the presence of a large workforce.”

General Manager, Nigerian Content Development, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Igo Weli said “India and Nigeria have a lot in common, and we believe both countries will benefit from increased trade and cooperation, especially in the oil and gas sector. SPDC is happy to provide the platform.”

According to Okonedo, representatives of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council and the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria – a group of indigenous contractors involved in the oil and gas sector – also made presentations.

The Tide learnt that the Indian companies that participated included leading manufacturers of carbon steel, alloy steel and stainless steel forgings, valves and well completion equipment.

It would be recalled that last year, SPDC linked up Nigerian companies with their Chinese and United Kingdom counterparts in a series of business summits in Abuja and Aberdeen, and also organised several vendor development sessions in Port Harcourt for nearly 300 Niger Delta-based contractors.

Every year, SPDC awards contracts worth billions of Naira to Nigerian companies and community contractors as part of its compliance with the Nigerian Content Development Law.

The company stated that all dredging projects in its operations are now reserved exclusively for Nigerian contractors, 60 per cent of whom are from the Niger Delta while also promoting the use of locally manufactured goods and Nigerian service companies in production operations, projects and well engineering.

In recognition of their commitment to Nigeria, Shell companies in Nigeria were awarded a prize for Excellence in Nigerian Content Development at the just-concluded Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference in Abuja.