ONE hundred Nigerian and British companies have taken advantage of the 11th investment summit jointly hosted by Shell Nigeria and the United Kingdom Trade & Investment to forge partnerships.
A statement from Shell on Tuesday said 45 British companies met with their Nigerian counterparts to discuss potential areas of collaboration in engineering procurement installation commissioning contracts, manufacturing, fabrication and general oil and gas services.
Shell, according to the statement, expects that the partnerships resulting from the summit will help grow the capacity of Nigerian companies in the provision of goods and services in the oil and gas industry.
The Managing Director, SNEPCo, Mr. Chike Onyejekwe , said Shell was committed to further developing local content in Nigeria.
"Last year, Shell companies in Nigeria awarded contracts worth $2.4bn to Nigerian companies, $1bn more than the amount in 2011. Local content is good for Nigeria and for the business and we're determined to raise the game," he added.
The Executive Secretary, Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board, Mr. Ernest Nwapa, commended Shell for the sustained interest in the Nigeria/UKTI investment forum.
"Since the first summit, we've seen a significant number of companies participating at the event and we hope they will focus on areas that will improve their capability. It is good to see that other IOCs are beginning to follow Shell's example by organising similar engagements," he said.
The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, represented by Mr.Mike Purves, said, "I am overwhelmed by the quality of attendees at this event, it shows that the symbiotic commercial interest between Nigeria and Britain is profitable."
The Group General Manager, NAPIMS represented by the General Manager, MMD, Mr. Luke Anele, said supply chain transactions accounted for 65 per cent of the total business value in the oil and gas industry and promised to support IOCs to develop local content in the sector.
The first Nigeria/UKTI investment summit was held in 2009, and since then, more than 35 business partnerships have been formed between British and Nigerian companies, with some of them executing contracts for Shell and other International Oil Corporations, according to Shell.
