The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority, Hadiza Bala-Usman, has said Intels Nigeria Limited has a competitive advantage over other terminal operators in the handling of oil and gas logistics in the country.

Speaking in Lagos on a TV programme, Usman said Intels was already a well-established terminal operator, having been in the business for more than 30 years.

A statement by the firm quoted her as saying, “I don’t think they (Intels) should shy away from competing with other terminals. They should welcome the fact that having really established that business, they should be able to compete and get all the cargo to themselves, and indeed if you have been operating and doing this service for years and now someone else is coming, you should have a favourable edge.”

The NPA boss had expressed similar sentiment for Intels in October 2016 during her maiden visit to its port facility and the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone.

Shortly after being conducted round the multimillion dollars facility, Usman had said she was impressed by the quality of facilities and services provided by Intels.

She described the facility as “very tidy” and the infrastructure as being “deployed efficiently and effectively.”

The General Manager of Intels Nigeria Limited, Mr. Silvano Bellinato, also said during the visit of the Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, to the facility that the quality facilities and services in Onne were the result of the company’s huge investments running into several billions of dollars.

He said, “Intels has been a trusted partner to major oil and gas producing companies in Nigeria and a monumental logistic partner to the NPA in the development of ports infrastructure and service in Nigeria.

“In over 30 years, we have added substantial value to the Nigerian oil and gas service industry and the operators have found our services strategic to their operations.”