Nigeria’s indigenous firm Quest Oil & Engineering Services has announced plans to expand its operation across Africa’s biggest oil-producing country with extensive investment in infrastructure as it sees a major boost in its operations by the first quarter of 2022.
Following the acquisition of Ascon Oil Company Limited in 2019, Quest wants to play regional dominance in West Africa petroleum products market which will enable Nigeria’s downstream sector to act as an enabler to other critical industries such as petrochemical, construction, agricultural and industrial sectors.
To meet this objective, Quest Gas & Power, a strategic business unit of Quest, is having ambitious targets by having engagements in several active projects including the Captive and Distributed power space.
The company is planning to build a Gas Storage Facility of a capacity of 10,000 MT scalable to 15,000MT in Delta State, a Composite Cylinder Manufacturing Plant with an LPG Bottling Plant to leverage the gas value chain.
According to the company, this action falls under its initial goal of integrating all of its offerings under the Quest umbrella while providing the best petroleum products.
“The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) will mark a new dawn and the beginning of a major repositioning in the Nigerian oil and gas industry,” Goke Dele, Chief Executive Officer, Quest Oil & Engineering Services Limited said during a recent media roundtable in Lagos.
The CEO recalled that over the years the industry has been starved of major deals in the last decade due to lack of incentives in terms of fiscal framework to galvanize the needed investment.
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“Thankfully, with the presidential assent to the PIB, the world will finally take notice of our industry once again,” Dele said.
He noted that Quest plans to contribute to Nigeria’s economic growth by providing clean and affordable petroleum services
to Nigerians.
“Our investment in the downstream sector symbolizes our reinvigorated strategy for the Nigerian market. This, according to the company, is in fulfillment of its goal of providing affordable, clean, reliable and sustainable energy to all in line with the United Nations SDG 7,” Goke remarked.
Concerning the firm’s next move, the CEO said that there are plans to significantly invest in cleaner energy; hence, “the company is optimistic that in the coming years, Quest will grow its assets in this area in a deliberate manner”.
Regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the firm’s operations, the CEO said that the impact is yet to wear out.
“Given that the third wave is right here with us, we have to take bold steps to protect ourselves. Though the signs are there that the economy is picking up due to increased vaccination, investors are cautiously optimistic about the future,” Goke said.
He added, “For us at Quest, the health of our employees is paramount and we are doing everything possible to ensure that
everyone is safe.”
Dele Taiwo, the Chief Operating Officer of Quest Gas & Power said Quest is riding on the declaration by the ministry of state of petroleum, to dedicate the new decade to the promotion and adoption of Natural Gas as the fuel of choice for national growth.
“We have channeled significant resources towards optimizing our service portfolio, not just to provide better quality of services to our customers, but also to create a sustainable energy ecosystem that aligns with our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals,” Taiwo told Journalists.
Taiwo noted that after PIA, the next big thing that has happened to the Nigerian oil and gas industry is the Nigerian Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP).
He explained that the move will create a level playing field for investors and catalyze the development of Nigeria’s vast gas resources which as of today, stands at about 206.53 trillion cubic feet.
“In the next 5 years, one of our top priorities is to operate a business that evolves with time, while leveraging trends and technology to deliver quality products and services to our customers”, the CEO said.
