GE, Heirs Holdings partner to expand footprint in oil, gas sector

General Electric (GE) and Heirs Holdings (HH) have agreed to expand their existing relationship to jointly pursue opportunities in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. Having identified enormous opportunities in the upstream sector and the domestic demand for oil and gas, both companies are poised to collaborate in transforming the industry landscape.

Before now, GE’s collaboration with Heirs Holdings was focused on the Nigerian power sector and specifically the expansion of Transcorp Ughelli, Nigeria’s largest power station. The move is a clear demonstration of a new approach by multinational companies to develop meaningful and long-term partnerships with credible and strong indigenous companies across a range of sectors. It is also an endorsement of the growing maturity of Nigeria’s private sector.

Tony Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holdings, says the expansion of the relationship with GE represents a pivotal moment for the oil and gas industry and for Nigerian businesses as a whole, saying this marks a major milestone in the Heirs Holdings strategy to domesticate value across the energy sector.

According to Elumelu, “partnerships like this capture the spirit of what I have termed Africapitalism and bring together global entities and world-class Nigerian companies. These are the kinds of investments we need to create employment and ensure economic value.”

The agreement will ensure the development of local capacity, technology transfer and leverage the best of global technology to deliver a solution fit for the African market.

John Rice ,vice-chair of GE Global, in his reaction to the partnership, says the agreement is a further example of meaningful local content delivery in Nigeria’s petroleum industry, as “our work with Transcorp and now, Heirs Holdings is ample proof of our commitment to continually identify and align with strategic stakeholders to create jobs, facilitate technology and skills transfer in critical sectors of the economy.”

The developing GE-HH relationship is expected to lead to significant investment and supply chain benefits for a whole range of Nigerian companies, operating across the industry value chain. Both organisations aim is to act as a catalyst for a far broader participation of small, medium and large Nigerian enterprises.

Olusola Bello