Companies that would operate profitably in Nigeria must seek out local partners to develop mutually beneficial relationship to be able to compete in Nigeria’s challenging oil and gas sector as well as any other sector, says Jejin Jeon, managing director of shipbuilder, Samsung Heavy Industries Nigeria (SHIN).
While speaking at the Nigeria-South Korea Business Forum held in Lagos to promote business links between Nigeria and South Korea. Jeon shared Samsung’s success story of sustainable business engagement in Nigeria to validate his assertion.
“Before considering operating a business or exploring the opportunities in Nigeria, you should thoroughly research the business environment, regulatory landscape and relevant statutory requirements. Finally you should partner with a local company to develop a mutually beneficial relationship based on trust,” he added.
The event was hosted by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTAR), the official trade and investment promotion agency of the Korean government. Samsung has been deeply involved in Nigerian development since it entered the country in 2014.
The construction of its SHI-MCI fabrication and integration yard in Lagos allowed the construction of the Egina floating production storage and offloading (FPSO). The Egina is a flagship offshore oil and gas project for French oil major, Total, which is producing close over 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, close to 10 per cent of Nigeria’s total oil production and is adding considerable revenue to the Nigerian economy.
Jeon, who was invited to speak on: “Sustainable business for economic development,” gave an overview of oil and gas industry in Nigeria, followed by a detailed explanation of how Samsung successfully completed the Egina FPSO project for its client Total.
“Samsung and its partners are dedicated to meeting Nigeria’s local content laws which stimulate local development. This is reflected in significant investments in human capacity development to meet the high demands of constructing the Egina including more than 560,000 man hours of training provided to local Nigerians who never had training in the shipbuilding or welding industries and 9.7 million man hours of labour which were carried out on Nigerian soil,” he explained.
