The Governance Council of the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG) has endorsed the appointment of Mr. Abdulrazaq Isa as the new IPPG Chairman effective from July 1, 2021.

He takes over from Mr. Ademola Adeyemi-Bero who was the pioneer Chairman of the Group from July 2015, having served two terms.

The first leadership transition and hand-over event, since the establishment of the IPPG , took place on the 29th of June, 2021 at the Waltersmith Head-Office in Ikoyi, Lagos, which had in attendance members of the IPPG Board of Trustees and Governance Council.

The outgoing Chairman of IPPG, Ademola Adeyemi-Bero,  expressed sincere appreciation to IPPG members for the confidence reposed in him and their support throughout his tenure as Chairman of the Group.

“A healthy and vibrant oil and gas sector remains critical for the development of Nigeria and progressive indigenous producers are best placed to ensure greater linkages between the upstream oil and gas industry and the wider Nigerian Economy’’, Ademola Adeyemi-Bero said in his remarks.

Thanking his predecessor for putting in an excellent shift during his tenure as IPPG Chairman, Abdulrazaq promised to take the organization to greater heights and solicited the support of members to ensure IPPG remains at the forefront of developing the Nigerian petroleum industry.

He also observed that due to changing industry dynamics and key industry reforms, it was imperative for IPPG to remain well positioned in order to contribute to the growth and development of the Nigerian petroleum industry by playing a leading role in meeting the cardinal priorities of the administration’s agenda for industry.

‘’IPPG remains committed to working collaboratively with all stakeholders in nurturing a petroleum industry that can take its rightful place in the global space’’, Abdulrazaq Isa, said.

Dr Layi Fatona, a member of the IPPG Board of Trustees, thanked the outgoing Chairman noting that under his tenure, IPPG achieved many significant achievements due to his hardwork and commitment to the growth and development of the Nigerian petroleum sector.

Established in 2015, IPPG is an association of indigenous Exploration and Production (E&P) companies with a current membership of twenty-three (23) companies. The Group was set up to promote and advance the development of the Nigerian petroleum industry. It constructively engages government and other stakeholders with the primary goal of maximizing the contribution of the domestic oil and gas industry to the overall socio-economic development of Nigeria.

The current members of IPPG are – AMNI International Petroleum Development Company Limited, Dansaki Petroleum Limited, Elcrest Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, Eroton Exploration and Production Company Limited, Energia Limited, FIRST Exploration and Petroleum Development Company Limited, First Hydrocarbon Nigeria Company Limited, Frontier Oil Limited, Green Energy International Limited, Lekoil Nigeria Limited, Midwestern Oil and Gas Nigeria Limited, Newcross Exploration and Production Limited, Network Exploration & Production Limited, Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Limited, Oriental Energy Resources Limited, Pillar Oil Limited , Platform Petroleum Limited, Seplat Petroleum Development Company PLC, Shoreline Natural Resources Limited, Suntrust Oil Company Nigeria Limited, Vertex Energy Limited, Waltersmith Petroman Oil Limited and Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Limited.

Zenith Bank Plc has been awarded  the Best Corporate Governance ‘Financial Services’ Africa 2021 by the Ethical Boardroom for the second consecutive year.

The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of the bank, Mr Ebenezer Onyeagwu, in a statement  explained that the award was in recognition of the bank’s adherence to global best practices and institutionalisation of corporate governance.

He  said: “This recognition is a testament to our commitment to quality, accountability, fairness and transparency in our engagement with all stakeholders.

“It is also an affirmation of the bank’s professionalism, ethical conduct and sustenance of global best practices and standards which is attributable to the joint collaboration of the management aond staff.

“This award comes on the heels of several awards and recognitions that have come the way of bank in recent times for its track record of excellent performance and commitment to global best practices.”

Zenith Bank was voted as Bank of the Year (Nigeria) in The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards 2020.

It was also voted as Best Bank in Nigeria in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards 2020 and 2021, and Best Corporate Governance ‘Financial Services’ Africa 2020 by the Ethical Boardroom, among many others.

The Global Process and Pipeline Services Limited (GPPSL), has won the Oilfield Services Company of the Year 2020 award at the  fourth edition of the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) held recently in Abuja.

The company was considered  the best in the category after an online voting process by industry professionals and stakeholders, making it the only company that has won the valuable award in this category from inception.

“Winning the award for the third consecutive time is a clear testament and acknowledgement of GPPSL’s significant contribution to oil and gas development through its excellent track record in process and pipeline services in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector. We are humbled by this recognition for our modest efforts making us a reference point for indigenous capacity for process and pipeline services in the country”, said Obi Uzu, Chief Executive, GPPSL, while receiving the award on behalf of the company at a dinner in State House Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa Abuja.

The award ceremony was witnessed by dignitaries such as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva; representative of Ghana’s Minister for Energy, Benjamin Kwame Asante; executive Secretary of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Wabote; heads of the parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and other key industry players.

Speaking with journalists on the sidelines after receiving the award, Obi Uzu thanked the organisers of the award for recognising GPPSL and for taking note of the company’s unique focus on process and pipeline services in Nigeria’s oil sector. He assured all stakeholders that GPPSL will not relent in its effort to offer excellent services in the industry, while maintaining global best practices at all times.

Obi Uzu, has more than 30 years oil field experience in drilling operation, production technology and process and pipeline services has supervised many successfully projects in Nigeria, America and UK.

The GPPSL chief executive said that the company is proudly Nigerian and product of the Nigerian Content Initiative.

“I must commend the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) led by the Executive Secretary, Simbi Wabote, for the giant strides recorded under his leadership. Also, our success story today would not be possible without the long-term service support and firm encouragement of our esteemed customers like Chevron, ExxonMobil, Total Energies, First Exploration and Production, Deltatek and Offshore and NLNG amongst others. We appreciate their dedication to the GPPSL brand”, he added.

GPPSL is the only Nigerian company focused solely on process and pipeline services with major projects completed in the deep-water applications in her product service line and has attracted the best hands in the industry from the multinationals to work for her with an expansion plan into other West Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa countries.

GPPSL is a success story of indigenous specialists collaborating together to form an enduring partnership in the oil and gas service sector based on international standards and best practices. The company’s infrastructure comprises of a head office facility in Port Harcourt including workshops, and a sales office in Lagos with the largest selection of brand new, high-end pumping capacity that meets the industry pressure and volume pumping requirements.

Savannah Energy’s Universal Energy Resources Limited (“UERL”) has won the Employer of the Year Award for the Oil and Gas (Upstream) Sector at the prestigious Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (“NECA”) Annual Employers’ Excellence Awards which held at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos.

The NECA Awards recognise companies that have exhibited ‘Excellence’ across a wide range of criteria. Companies are evaluated on their leadership, corporate performance, governance, health and safety, human resource management, innovation and technological optimisation, as well as their ability to promote best practices and responsible business engagement for the benefit of the Nigerian economy.

Nkoyo Etuk, Head of Stakeholder Relations & Communication and Regional Manager SE, Savannah Energy, commented:

“We would like to thank the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) for this prestigious award. It is a recognition of the tremendous impact we are making through our investment in Nigeria which includes our people and host communities. As a company, we live the Savannah SEE-IT core values in our practices every day. And these values are Sustainability, Entrepreneurialism, Excellence, Integrity and Teamwork.

We remain committed to supporting the career growth and development of our employees and maintaining our position as the employer of choice”.

The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, (NIPR) on Thursday in Bauchi at its Annual General Meeting, conferred  Fellowship Award on Dr. Kennie Obateru, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

Obateru, a self-driven and an amiable PR practitioner, joined the NNPC in 1992 as an experienced hire.

Through the years he has served in various capacities as: General Manager/Head NNPC London Office, Manager, Public Affairs, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Manager, Public Affairs, Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) among other positions.

He is an alumnus of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos; University of Ilorin and University of Stirling, Scotland, UK, where he obtained a Certificate in News Reporting, a B.A. (Hons) Performing Arts and an M.Sc. in Public Relations respectively.

In 2012, he was awarded a Doctorate Degree in Management (Honoris Causa) by the Commonwealth University, Belize.

Obateru has attended numerous professional courses and conferences at home and abroad which include International Public Relations Association Conferences,) World Petroleum Congresses (WPCs) and more than a dozen OPEC Ministerial Conferences among others.

Oriwu Senior Model College, Lagos State has emerged as the Best Public School at the 2020 Presidential Teachers/ Schools Excellence Award.

 Mrs. Folasade Adefisayo, Hon. Commissioner for Education  has reaffirmed the commitment of the state government towards providing a conducive environment for teaching and learning, enabling students to have access to total quality education.

She gave the assurance during the official presentation of keys to a bus won by Oriwu Senior Model College at the conference room of the ministry at Alausa.

She  attributed this success to the huge investment of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu’s administration to the development of the education sector.

She reiterated the State Government commitment to the no child is left behind mantra in the drive for total educational development.

She emphasized that the state  continued  outstanding performances in various competitions and award ceremonies was a testament to the efforts and collective commitment towards adding value to the education sector.

 Heirs Oil & Gas (HHOG), has announced the appointment of Osayande Igiehon as Chief Executive Officer, effective May 4, 2021, together with a distinguished non-executive board, bringing together leading industry figures, with considerable global and regional experience.

Heirs Holdings Limited’s (HH) portfolio company, HHOG, completed the acquisition of OML17 in January 2021, in one of the largest oil and gas financings in Africa in more than a decade, with a financing component of US$1.1 billion.

The transaction represents a further implementation of the HH Group strategy of creating the leading integrated energy business in Africa. Through a series of strategic portfolio holdings, HH is executing this strategy.

Recently, affiliate company, Transcorp made a US$300 million acquisition of Afam Power, increasing the Group’s installed electricity generating capacity to 2,000MW.

Mr. Igiehon, who joins from the Royal Dutch Shell (Shell), where he was previously a Vice-President with the Group in the Hague, Netherlands. He brings over twenty-seven years of experience and expertise in the oil and gas sector with Shell, where he held a series of senior management positions. Mr. Igiehon previously served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Shell Gabon, where he led the successful turnaround of the operational, safety and financial performance.

HHOG also  announced  the appointment of the following distinguished private sector and senior industry leaders to the Board:

Tony O. Elumelu, CON is the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, the United Bank for Africa (UBA), Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp), and Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Sally Udoma,who previously served as general counsel for Chevron Europe, Eurasia, and the Middle East Exploration and Production. Previously, she was general counsel for Sasol Chevron Consulting Limited and managing counsel at the London Legal Service Centre for Chevron Global Upstream and Gas. She has also served as general counsel and general manager for Chevron Nigeria Limited.

Anil Dua is a founding partner at Gateway Partners Limited, a private equity fund specialising in dynamic growth markets including Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Prior to this, Mr. Dua worked for over thirty-five years with Standard Chartered Bank in Asia, Africa, Europe and the US, where he held various roles including Regional CEO West Africa and Regional Head of Origination and Client Coverage, Africa.

Ahmadu Kida Musa who previously served as Deputy Managing Director of Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, has over thirty-two years of experience in the Oil and Gas industry and brings considerable expertise in Nigerian oil and gas.

Stanley Lawson currently serves on the board of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc. He is Managing Partner at Financial Advisory & Investment Consultants Ltd. Dr Lawson previously occupied the position of Group Executive Director-Finance & Accounts at Nigerian National Petroleum Corp.

Samuel Nwanze is the Chief Finance Officer at Heirs Oil and Gas. Prior to this he was the Chief Investment Officer at Heirs Holdings responsible for investment and capital management.

Commenting, Mr. Igiehon stated:”HHOG represents an extraordinary opportunity, to create Africa’s first true integrated energy company, with a mission to ensure that Africa’s natural resources are directed toward value creation in Africa, powered by sustainable, robust and abundant African energy. I am excited to join the Heirs Oil and Gas leadership team and look forward to the opportunity to transform the energy sector, purposefully address Africa’s energy needs and improve the lives of people across Africa.”

The Chairman of the Board, Tony O. Elumelu, CON, stated: “I am delighted to welcome our new board members. We are building a role model institution for African businesses and our investment in human capital is a further strong demonstration of our intent. The regional and global expertise of our board members will serve to further drive value creation to our continent, as we execute our goal of becoming Africa’s largest, indigenous, integrated, energy company.”