Presidency Sets To Wade into Acquisition of Oil Tankers for Local Operators

There are indications that the presidency may be warming up for an effective cash intervention in order to ensure that indigenous operators acquire vessels that will enable them to key into the local content law and participate in the lifting of Nigeria’s petroleum products.

There are indications that the presidency may be warming up for an effective cash intervention in order to ensure that indigenous operators acquire vessels that will enable them to key into the local content law and participate in the lifting of Nigeria’s petroleum products.
According to the Senior Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on maritime affairs, Mr. Leke Oyewole, the presidency is already exploring ways by which it can partner with foreign investors through the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) in order to get ships for Nigerian operators.
Speaking at a breakfast meeting organized by the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping in Lagos recently, Mr. Oyewole said that there are efforts to ensure that the high capital that is needed in the local oil and gas sector is in a way given to the sector through the government. According to him, NIMASA will be used to get investors from abroad and they will also ensure that the money is paid back by the indigenous company that gets it.
He said that “the only grey areas we are trying to look at now is, if these vessels come, who do we give them to? I have taken a step and asked ISAN to form a consortium because we cannot buy for all of them in the maritime sector, other credible Nigerians that can get contracts will also be considered, we are looking at all these variables” he assured.
He acknowledged that “Cabotage vessels should be 100 percent owned by Nigerians, but Nigerians do not have the money, we need money and we need vessel because we must empower Nigerians”.
The decision of the government to wade in, according to him, is because the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) is not enough and it is not sufficient enough to go round for all the applicants to do a reasonable business.
Oyewole however assured that in order to ensure that Nigerians get sustainable contracts in the oil business, NIMASA and the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) will sit together and harmonize government decision and come up with a solution to these challenges.
To buttress his point, he said that, “I have also written to the President asking for a date after which we must have harmonized these positions, asking for a date for chief executives of all the IOC’s, NIMASA, NNPC as well as all other stakeholders will then come to the villa and the president himself with read out to them, I don’t want to call it a riot Act because we are in a democracy”.
Oyewole assured that the backlog of complaints that have been emanating from local operators about not getting a substantial contract to operate in the upstream sector will immediately come to an end after the meeting.
“NAPIMS is a government body and this we can handle, but the IOC’s whatever they are using to hide, that we need to break, but let us harmonize these positions first, let us all agree, and that meeting is underway, I have discussed this with the minister of transport”