‘How Nigeria can tap into $200 billion deep offshore market potential’

• Legislators laud LADOL’s $600m facility

For Nigeria to fully tap into the emerging deep offshore market potential in West Africa, the Federal Government has been urged to create an enabling environment that would aid the survival of private operators in the maritime/energy service industry.

The Managing Director of LADOL, Amy Jadesimi, disclosed this during the official visit of the House of Representatives and Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCMB), to its Oil and Gas Free Zone (LFZ) in Lagos.

Jadesimi, who expressed concerns that the $200 billion market in West Africa is being ‘underserved’, said the deep offshore market poses a time limited opportunity for Nigeria to overcome the ‘natural resource course’.

According to her, about 130 oil rigs were towed from West Africa, past the tip of Africa across the Indian Ocean to the far east for service in 2010, due to insufficient capacity in the region.

Jadesimi highlighted some challenges to Nigeria becoming West Africa’s hub to include; absence of deep water terminals; lack adequate berthing capacity; lack of essential supporting infrastructure; congested road network; underutilised waterways; bureaucratic bottle necks; high maritime and freight charges among others.

She said LADOL has therefore floated the $600 million free zone with robust and technologically advanced infrastructure that can operate safely and efficiently to support high value industrial projects.

According to her, the base is poised to reduce costs of operating in Nigeria by 50 per cent and create over 50,000 jobs (direct and indirect).

Executive chairman of LADOL, Ladi Jadesimi, recalled that as the only Greenfield privately developed yard in the industry by wholly indigenous initiative, it was tough to carry on in the face of stringent opposition to the idea.

“We however remained focused and carry on in the face of stiff oppositions because we know that success is assured. We were however vindicated with the passing into law of the Local Content to be known as the Local Content law.

“We are therefore calling on government at all levels to continue to support us by not giving vent to monopoly so that the spate of development and growth the industry is gradually witnessing with the involvement of indigenous players can continue, and other investors encouraged to do more” he said.

Chairman of the House Committee, Emmanuel Ekon, and Executive Secretary of the Content Board Engineer, Obah Patrick, expressed pleasant surprise at the development of the facility, saying their visit was a testimony of the commendable operations at the zone.

The team was conducted round the facility which includes the Egina project yard where the company is currently serving as local content partner to Samsung Heavy Industry (SHI) in the fabrication of a Floating Production Storage and offloading (FPSO) platform, said to be first in Africa.

Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Obah Patrick, noted that the role of his organization as a regulatory agency was not only to support LADOL and other logistics service providers in the industry, but to also ensure that they operate within the ambit of the law, as enshrined in the Local Content law of 2010.

He said: “LADOL has invested so much in this industry and more so as an indigenous company, we must continue to support and encourage them, because what we have seen is huge not only in investment but as a way of capacity development for the country”.

Also, the Chairman of the House Committee, Emmanuel Ekon, noted that although the committee has a duty to carry out its oversight functions, the visit was “to celebrate with LADOL for taking the yard from a Greenfield status to a world class ship building yard.