By Adedapo Adesanya
OVH Energy Marketing Limited has proffered that customer satisfaction remains one of the major drivers that will help Nigeria benefit from the deregulated oil and gas sector.
This was one of the key points raised at the recently concluded maiden edition of the Nigerian Content Midstream – Downstream Oil and Gas Stakeholders Summit, theme, Maximizing Potentials in the Midstream and Downstream Oil and Gas Sector – A Local Content Perspective.
The event, organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), engaged stakeholders within the industry in top-level dialogue articulating the agenda for actualizing the full local content potential.
Speakers and panellists also discussed prospects for driving massive investments in the midstream and downstream sectors of the Nigerian energy industry.
On the second day of the hybrid summit, which featured a panel discussion with Mr Huub Stokman, Chief Executive Officer of OVH Energy Marketing Limited (Oando licensee), the issues raised included the opportunity areas and challenges of investments in the petroleum product marketing and bunkering sector. It was noted that to effectively invest in Nigeria’s midstream and downstream oil and gas sector, players need to increase operational efficiencies and reduce losses.
Mr Stokman admonished that investors measure performance through returns rather than on satisfaction derived from customers, stating that pipelines, depots, trucks and retail sites are priority areas for investment within the industry. The trucks and depots are critical to last-mile delivery and should be upgraded with safety features reflective of modern best practices.
He said, “With the proposed deregulation of the industry backed by the Petroleum Industry Act, soon Nigeria will have a functioning refinery landscape which will create value for Nigeria.
“However, stakeholders must properly capture this value through safe and sustainable operations down the value chain, otherwise, it will go to waste.”
Speaking further, the OVH chief remarked that “The retail forecourt offerings in the industry are not on par with those of other countries on the continent. Once deregulation happens the price of PMS will probably increase. When this happens, the consumer will naturally request more value for money.
“When we pay more, we typically want more. To satisfy the consumers’ demand, industry players must guarantee the quality, quantity, and excellent customer service in a safe and secure environment,” he continued.
He further highlighted key challenges facing the manufacturing industry that supports the oil and gas industry, including reliance on import of critical raw materials, inflation and currency devaluation, as well as industry skills shortage arising from skilled Nigerians moving overseas.
Mr Stokman reiterated that investment done by the Oil & gas industry in upskilling existing manpower will contribute to building in-country people skills availability.
The summit’s agenda of sensitizing and enlightening stakeholders about NCDMB’s capacity intervention programmes in support of Nigerian Content Development in the Mid and Downstream sectors is commendable.
