Yesterday, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM) signed a partnership deal with Shell Nigeria Gas Ltd, according to a statement signed by the company’s Head of Corporate Communications, Cornel Osigwe.
The partnership means that Shell will henceforth use Innoson Vehicles for official and operational purposes. The development has given a boost to the drive to patronize local contents. Innoson has been looking for such partnershipS to expand its market base and has assured of its readiness to meet the supply demand.
In a brief address, the Founder and Chairman of Innoson Group, Mr. Innocent Chukwuma, said IVM, being the first wholly indigenous and leading vehicle manufacturing company in Nigeria, has established themselves as leaders in major markets across Nigeria and West Africa, due to its high safety standards, dynamic and exhilarating performance, ruggedness, durability, absolute reliability and affordable prices.
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“Today in Africa, we are witnessing a revolution in car manufacturing led by Innoson, to produce the best vehicles that meet international and Standard Organization of Nigeria’s standards,” he said.
The Shell Nigeria Gas MD, ED Ubong, said that Shell has over the years been passionately showing a patronage example to others when it comes to local content. He said that the efforts of Shell in promoting locally made goods and services has not gone unnoticed: Recalling that this year, Shell won the International Oil Company with the most impactful Local Content Initiatives in the upstream category at the 2019 edition of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) held in the Bayelsa State capital, Yenogoa, in April.
Ubong promised that Shell will do more than patronize Innoson, that it will help the company to get better by pointing out areas of improvement.
The contract purchase agreement by the two companies has been commended as precedential encouragement to other corporate organizations in Nigeria, to patronize local contents.
Chevron is Selling Its Oil Fields in Nigeria
Chevron is seeking to sell many of its oil fields in Nigeria as the company is trying to focus on its U.S. shale output, banking and industry, Reuters reports.
Nigerian oil field has witnessed reduction in activities by oil giants like ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell, who have decided to cut their presence in Nigeria to the barest minimum.
Chevron is the third largest oil producer in Nigeria. However, it is believed that the turn of events in the oil industry, especially in the Niger Delta region has pushed the California-based company to look for buyers for quite a number of its on the onshore and shallow offshore fields.
In 2018, Chevron Nigeria was producing 194, 000 barrels of crude oil per day, 233 million cubic feet of natural gas per day and 6, 000 barrels of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) per day.
Currently, Chevron’s subsidiary in Nigeria operates and holds 40% stake in 8 blocks in the onshore and near-onshore regions of the Niger Delta under the partnership of the Nigeria’s National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The report said that discussions are being held directly with potential buyers and Chevron is not planning to launch a tender process for the assets at this stage.
However, the recent development has but stirred concern for Nigeria. The security challenges in the Niger Delta region was fingered as the major reason behind the decision of Chevron, Shell and ExxonMobil to sell a number of their oil fields, but experts are suggesting that there could be more.
The dwindling future of oil based energy is a reality that the oil giants cannot deny. Therefore most of the oil companies are trying to reduce the cost of production especially in risk-filled places like the Niger Delta.
Data based economy is growing with threatening speed that oil companies have to brace up for the impact. And that means, cutting cost and saving up for whatever alternative there may have to stay in business.
It is believed that the development is a sign that Nigeria needs to diversify its economy and find practical alternative to her oil based economy.