James Shindi is the Chief Executive of Brevity Anderson, organisers of the annual Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS). In this interview with the Editor, MARGARET NONGO-OKOJOKWU he speaks on the need for collaboration among African countries in order to create a cross pollinating of ideas across the continent to bring about regional integration and continental development. Excerpts;

We saw increased numbers, what was unique about NIPS 2019?

If you look at the success of the 2018 edition and how Brevity Anderson and the Nigerian government set out to build on those successes , the increased number of participants in the 2019 edition was not unexpected. In the first edition, we had the who is who of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria attend. In addition, we had participation from several foreign bodies like OPEC, APPO, IEC, etc at the highest level, with the heads of these organisations attending in person and openly endorsing the event. Besides that, we had thirteen (13) ministers from outside Nigeria also in attendance, with delegations from across the globe.
NIPS 2019 was unique as it addressed the technical, operational and commercial challenges associated with future sector growth. The three-day event featured an exhibition where 50+ supply chain companies showcased their products and services. Next to that, there was an accompanying conference and technical workshops that covered key topics and solutions for the E & P, Petrochemical & Refining; offshore community and finance et cetera. The NIPS 2019 edition attracted over 5,000 unique attendees representing 30+ nationalities.

What’s in store for NIPS 2020? What’s the big picture for NIPS?

NIPS has rapidly grown in two years to become the biggest cross medial platform for professionals representing the entire upstream, mid-stream and downstream value chain to meet in Nigeria. It is a massive avenue to discuss topical industry developments, stay up-to-date and expand industry network. We are seriously working to make NIPS 2020 surpass the last two editions targeting 100 exhibitors at least, expecting 1,500 delegates, over 60 diverse nationalities, and looking forward to 5,000 visitors to the exhibition

What does Nigeria benefit by having more of these oil and gas conferences locally? Can you put numbers to it? Estimate?

Nigeria has an enviable track record of being a stable and pro-oil and gas industry country. It is a pivotal moment in the nation’s history to demonstrate the caliber of its hydrocarbons industry and to accelerate the achievements of oil and gas producers in Nigeria. We had fantastic presentations from SHELL and Total E & P Nigeria at the recent event. More so, the government through the ministry of petroleum and parastatals under it recognized the importance of collaborating with influential organizations locally such as NCDMB, SPE Nigeria, OPTS, IPPG, NGA, NAPE, OGTAN etc and internationally like APPO, OPEC and GECF so as to unite oil and gas stakeholders on a collective global platform that will ultimately promote collaboration and encourage new investment. This is what NIPS represents to Nigeria distinctively just like the way we sees the Annual OTC event in Houston.

Let’s know your thoughts on regional integration among professionals in African countries.

I personally feel more of that is actually happening now than previously. More and more regional players are getting the message that this is a numbers’ game and there is power in collaboration. We are seeing a cross pollinating of ideas across the continent with a real sense of brotherhood. More needs to be done, for sure, but I am confident that steps are being taken in the right direction and not the other way round. Events like N.I.P.S are just one example of where we see this happening.
The dearth of infrastructure impacts negatively on local content. How do you think Nigeria and Africa can best confront this issue seeing it will cost trillions of US Dollars?
Whether we refer to general infrastructure or with specific reference to the oil and gas industry, there is never going to be a silver bullet. The scale of the gap is so much that not even governments have the singular resources to close the gap. The other option to the look at is PPPs and how we can trigger more private sector capital investment in infrastructure. The role government then has to play is to continue to create that the enabling environment to attract investment. Where you have increased investor confidence, what happens next is natural.

What’s your assessment of Nigeria’s local content law?

The nation’s desire to build on its strengths by generating higher growth, help retain and create new jobs, build competitive industries at home as well as deliver its expertise to the world, led to the promulgation of the local content Act which has seen the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) heavily enforce national content rules to strengthen the role, development and growth of Nigerian nationals in the oil and gas industry especially. The scope is now being expanded to other sectors, which is good. To ensure compliance with the country’s local content regulations, NCDMB carries out regular audit to assess efforts taken by operators and contractors towards domestic capacity building and promotion of entrepreneurship. Defaulters are heavily sanctioned. In this regard, NCDMB have done an excellent job and we can all see the results of this, whether in the building of modular refineries or other huge projects running into billions of dollars.

Why are you attending OTC 2019?

Since 1969, the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) endorsed by 13 industry organizations and societies covering all aspects of the energy industry, provides the platform for energy professionals to meet for exchange of ideas and opinions to advance scientific and technical knowledge for offshore resources and environmental matters. NIPS is premised on what OTC represents, it is capacity building for us to see what has kept OTC relevant for 50 years. It is also a veritable platform to market NIPS to the global audience by ensuring they capture it as a must attend petroleum show in Africa. It is important for NIPS to be represented.