By Fredrick Okopie

Nigeria’s oil and gas sector has been on the decline in the last three years. Yet, major players, like  Wotting Group Limited, MD/CEO, Mr. Oluwole Richard Oyebade, say in spite of the  backward slide in crude oil price in the global market and stringent campaigns against fossil fuel exploration, Nigeria may still overcome the economic woes with or without oil.

Oluwole Oyebade

Since 2014, the economic environment in Nigeria has been rough as a result of the crash in crude oil price. How are the players coping?

We are an oil offshore logistics company and a downstream petroleum group. We provide security crew boat for offshore vessel and we trade in the petroleum downstream. We sell, resell, retail and distribute diesel, petrol, aviation fuel, lubricants, engine oil and LPG. Since 2014, the business environment has been really tough for the oil sector in which WOTTNIG is a major player. We have been coping by increasing the quality of our products, embracing technology and reducing manpower, we train and retrain our employees and we double our steadfastness in the delivery of our products to our customers. As I said earlier, we have had to reduce our manpower to a point where we have to put majority of our staff on contracts, laying off others and retaining those with high profitability, good performance and high character ethics level.

What future does oil hold in the Nigerian economy?

The future of oil in Nigeria is very bright. Nigeria still depends on oil to sustain her economy. Personally, I think it is time for our government to support the diversification of the economy. This will make many people gain more exposure, our goods will be exported and we will make more money for the economy. Nigeria will prosper if we can reduce the attention on oil serving as the mainstay of the country’s economy.

What are the implications for foreign investments and investors in the industry considering the unfriendly conditions in the local content of the PIB? 

The PIB is one of the best things that has happened in our lifetime. No other bill has been more popular since Nigeria returned to Democratic rule in 1999 than the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). The reason is that anything petroleum in Nigeria generates passionate interest. The bill becomes the master reference that governs the Nigerian petroleum industry from the upstream division (exploratory, development and production activities) through the midstream (gas processing) to downstream where WOTTNIG belongs (servicing, refining, distribution transportation, marketing/retailing). Shortly after former President Olusegun Obasanjo assumed office in 1999, he set up the Oil and Gas Industry Committee (OGIC), with a mandate to find better ways of managing the industry. The laws and regulations guiding the industry had been around since 1950. The (OGIC) was led by Mr Rilwanu Lukman, a petroleum engineer and former Secretary General of OPEC. Its  reports and recommendations formed the basis of the Petroleum Industry Bill, which had since been further reviewed and adjusted.

What does PIB law seek to achieve?

The bill seeks to create a conducive business environment for petroleum operations, enhance exploitations and exploration of petroleum resources in Nigeria for the benefit of Nigerians. In addition to that, the law seeks to optimize domestic gas supplies especially for power generation and industrial development. Also, the law will encourage investment in Nigeria petroleum industry; optimize government revenue, establish profit driven oil entities, deregulate and liberalize the downstream petroleum sector, create efficient and effective regulatory agencies. The (PIB) law will promote the development of Nigerian content in the oil industry; protect health, safety and the environment in the petroleum operations.