From Adewale Sanyaolu, Houston, Texas
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of New Energy Services Company Limited (NESSCO), Mr Usman Mohammed, has raised the alarm that the long contracting cycle in the oil industry is impacting negatively planning and strategy.
Mohammed stated this in an interview on the sidelines of the 2024 Oil Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston Texas.
The NESSCO boss said the market is not waiting for Nigeria, hence contract projections, especially revenue are mostly impacted due to delays in the series of layers involved in approval processes.
He equally lamented the negative impact of policy inconsistency on the business environment, saying if Nigeria is to be taken seriously among its peers, the sanctity of contracts must be strictly adhered to at all times.
‘‘The operating environment in Nigeria is not too friendly for businesses. A bid that is submitted in January cannot be implemented successfully in the next month because of disruptions in the foreign exchange market.
By the time you are ready to execute the contract, the project cost will have been impacted as a result of market dynamics. This creates uncertainty and that is what affects most transactions because you have to now return to the negotiation table to see how that couple be balanced
We have a particularly bad experience. There is a contract that we have been on for about five years. We have made payment to the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). But up till now, we have not signed the contract. We have also lost some money to the bank in the process of this long wait.”
On environmental sustainability, he said discussions around green energy are beginning to cause disruptions, especially in the way businesses are conducted in the oil industry, adding that his company is beginning to take the lead in that direction.
‘‘For our Port Harcourt workshop, we have drastically reduced the level of emissions into the environment by about 40 per cent through the use of solar to generate electricity.
He said NESSCO which is an Engineering Procurement Company (EPC) and facility management firm handled about 40 per cent of all Exxonmobil platform operations for some years while carrying out similar or other services for TotalEnergies, Baker Hughes, Aveon Offshore, Bw Offshore and others operators in the industry.
Other areas of the company’s operations include; deployment of heavy lifting equipment, crane management, valve maintenance and testing, hydraulic hoses, fabrication and recertification.
He said the vision of the company is to be the leading and preferred integrated energy company, globally recognised for competence, character and commitment while its mission is to be the foremost provider of bespoke EPC and facility management services with accountability of efficient maintenance and project management.