Shell companies on Friday won the Industry Achievement award at the 2019 awards night of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), the umbrella body of indigenous technical oilfield service companies in the upstream and downstream sectors of the Nigerian oil and gas industry. Managing Director, The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), Osagie Okunbor, was also honoured at the event with the Aret Adams Award for Excellence for leading a formidable team in Shell to deliver value to its partners, stakeholders and particularly the country.

PETAN President, Bank-Anthony Okoroafor, said the Industry Achievement Award was in recognition of Shell’s consistent outstanding contributions to the development of local content in the Nigerian oil and gas industry over the years. Okoroafor acknowledged the leadership role of Shell companies in Nigeria and described the award was well-deserved. “Indigenous companies look up to Shell and other industry leaders to leverage growth opportunities in the industry,” he said.

Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), Bayo Ojulari, received the Shell awards on behalf of Okunbor.

Speaking on the awards, Ojulari said, “At Shell, we see local content as a critical business enabler, not just a regulatory requirement, and that is why we take cogent steps to encourage community and Nigerian contractors even before the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act was enacted in 2010.”

According to Ojulari, the many ‘intentional steps have matured as contracts and funding and other capacity building initiatives as well as highly rewarding collaborative engagements with Nigerian oil and gas professionals in Scotland and suppliers in China. We are pleased that the milestones have been recognised by PETAN and other organisations.”

The PETAN awards came barely a week after Shell companies in Nigeria emerged the top companies to work for in Nigeria according to a survey by Jobberman, an international recruitment website with over 2 million job applicants and 40,000 employers in Nigeria.