Even though the matter is before the Presidency, the newly inaugurated Board of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), has promised to made inroads into the lingering crisis in the oil and gas logistics value chain.
The Board, led by its Chairman, Engr. Emmanuel Adesoye Olajide during a visit to the Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics (LADOL) base in Apapa Lagos, promised to look into the issues and table it before President Muhammadu Buhari for final resolution.
Olajide, an engineer, said they will look into the matter, which has threatened forex earnings in the country and ensure that the president himself wades in.
Olajide saw LADOL as an organisation that is foremost to current efforts by the Federal Government in checking the lingering foreign exchange challenges currently facing the nation.
The visiting team, which comprised the board members and accompanied by seven general managers of NPA, were received in audience by the Managing Director of the logistics base, Dr. Amy Jadesmi.
NPA noted that LADOL is a huge investment that is generating job opportunities as well as revenue base for the economy. Another director at NPA Emukowhate Charles, said the organisation is vital to government’s current efforts to check the lingering scarcity of foreign exchange that has hit the country.
He said “I am greatly impressed by what I have seen here which shows that there is hope for the country…the fact that you have a facility here that is the only one of such in Africa, and a foreign exchange earner, it makes it a win-win situation and a seller for the President.
“The President needs people and organisations that can generate forex at this critical time…and you are one of them, hence we must make sure that what we have seen here goes directly to the table of Mr. President.
But the board chairman assured that his board will do all that was necessary in order to ensure a level playing field for all operators in the industry to strive.
Jadesimi noted that aside from being the only indigenous service provider in the sector, LADOL also boasts of being the only logistics service provider in the oil and gas sector that currently operates the most modern blasting and painting technology in Africa.
“As a fact, we also parade other main distinguishing factors such as our unique quay wall and draft capacity of 500 meters that can handle a 35 tonnes entity. There is currently no dry dock facility in Africa to handle an FPSO vessel, except LADOL” she said.
Explaining more on the evolution of the Egina FPSO project at the base, which is a contract awarded by Total Nigeria, Jadesimi said the multinational oil company takes the issue of safety for the world class facility very seriously, hence “together with Total and Samsung Heavy Industries, we undertook five different simulations to show that the vessel can safely come in to Nigeria and can berth at LADOL with ease.
