Chichi has over twenty two (22) years experience in the Oil and Gas spanning across the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors. Her capabilities cut across diverse spectrums including but not limited to business development and strategy, engineering, project conceptualization & management, deals structuring, stakeholder management, technical procurement and overall contract administration.
She holds a B.Eng in Chemical Engineering from Enugu State University of Science & Technology and an MBA in Oil & Gas Management from the prestigious Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen.
Presently she is replicating her success strides in Neconde Energy Limited as the Head, Gas Ventures where she is responsible for driving the company’s Gas business on OML42, while she also serves on the council of the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) in the capacity of a Secretary General. Excerpts of her interview with Majorwaves:
Q. How did you find your way into oil and gas and what is the most remarkable event that shaped your journey while a lot of people avoided STEM?
Growing up I had a knack for Mathematics and the Sciences, plus I was a foremost member of our school team, always engaged in competitions which had me constantly studying and practicing to keep myself ahead of the game. Fast forward to the university – it was only natural – I applied to study Chemical Engineering and Industrial Chemistry, with the former eventually being my final choice. Several factors shaped me on my journey in this facet: from being the first of four siblings which I believe came with a level of responsibility that gave me some of the tenacity to approach those subjects fearlessly; having a tough Mathematics teacher in lower level school whom I didn’t like but sought to avoid his punishments by simply taking on my studies seriously. In the university, we had a group of us in the faculty of Engineering, who grew our capacities and capabilities by sticking and studying together. We even had a place we named Hollywood where we stayed to do our studies, literally branding ourselves as stars! And as it is said, “iron sharpeneth iron,” it helped us pull through. I will never forget the shared courses from the Civil Engineering department which were the hardest for me, but that teamwork helped me a great deal.
Q. You’ve spent over two decades in the industry, what words do you have for young professionals aspiring to make an entry into the industry and those who are freshly in?
Once you get an opportunity, take on projects, volunteer to be part of teams. Do the hard work, the dirty work, that everyone else feels is grueling. It may sound cliché, but hard work does pay. There is no other way to garner the much needed experience that will place you ahead or better still, sell you. And hard work does have a twist to it today, try to do it smarter within acceptable safety parameters (where applicable).
Try and understand the industry globally and locally; What are the underlying policies, acts, regulations guiding the businesses especially for an environment as ours here in Nigeria? What are the top most discussions? How does the global discus affect our industry with its peculiarities? Knowledge will always sharpen your thoughts on the job as well as unconsciously place you in the shoes of the business shareholders and owners. One of the key values of team members who stick out the most is Ownership; taking it on as if it were owned by you is a passion that will always set you apart.
Lastly, pay attention to soft skills, flexibility, adaptability, comportment, writing and communication skills. It is said, it is the little foxes that spoil the vineyard…pay attention to details, read in between the lines.
Q. What’s your take on work-life balance?
For me, it is because of life that we work, both are very much entwined. However, there is no magic wand to striking that balance and certainly no “one size fits all” approach. You must prioritise by yourself, the solution starts with finding what works for YOU and this is regardless of whether you are male or female. That is why so many solutions revolve around managing your time, adopting productivity hacks and creating a more flexible work schedule. Learn to delegate where you can, of course, you can always keep an eye on the output as it relates especially to quality but at least get help where you can.
Watch your health, what you eat, who you chat with at work, deliberately carve out quality time with family, take holidays and sometimes, simply know when to say no.
One of the key values of team members who stick out the most is Ownership; taking it on as if it were owned by you is a passion that will always set you apart.
Q . What’s your stance on feminism and how do you balance it with African culture in the work place?
I am not sure how much I know about feminism but I do know our African and indeed our Nigerian culture is highly patriarchal. Whether we like it or not, it plays up in the workplace especially in an industry such as ours that is male dominated.
I always say, earn your place at the table, do not be afraid as a woman to lead conversations from a very informed position and to exude the right level of knowledge, confidence and intellectual engagement that is required. Note that in this playing field, investors do not know who is male or female, they are simply looking for performers, who can deliver the business goals and expectations. We will not pretend, it is tougher for the women especially with all that we have to juggle with but it has been established that businesses that have women in the forefront even up to the board and CEO levels do better. Please refer to recent reports with data from firms such as McKinsey, Credit Suisse, etc.
“in this playing field, investors do not know who is male or female, they are simply looking for performers, who can deliver the business goals and expectations.
Whilst we have these discussions on gender equality in the workplace, the women need to understand that it will not just fall on our laps. We need to work for it; the more you go up the ladder and the corporate pipeline, the less number of qualified women you find to fill in those spaces. In a business environment, where capital is challenged today, investors seek good managers who can deliver returns on those investments and that is not a gender discussion. We will work, consciously create, and encourage more opportunities for females, but the deciding factor still remain skills and the requisite competence especially for an industry like ours. Continuous self-development cannot be overemphasised; it will help you produce those ace cards that you need when the opportunity arises. It is never late, start preparation today.
Q. If you weren’t in oil and gas, what would you be into?
I would be somewhere in the food value chain business, starting with agriculture and ending up with fully-processed end products. I see and know that Nigeria is blessed with very arable land which could be maximised to draw up full blown potentials but we are still very much a work in progress. I love what is being done today with food product design and packaging in Nigeria. It is helping change the face of the entrepreneurs in that space. It is upping competition, going beyond mere marketing,
bringing more appeal and establishing serious brand image and awareness. I have a child who has a flair for art and design and together we scrutinise some of the packaging of the agric products we find on the supermarket shelves from time to time whilst sharing ideas.
When I do get the chance someday, I will give it a shot but one thing I am sure of is, setting up something huge in the food chain business has always been a retirement plan of mine. I love cooking very much and also have a child who shares that same passion. I know she will do a very good job in assisting me manage and deliver that part of the dream. Plus, she loves commercial ventures, at an early age of seven she was already selling my left over birthday cakes and milk shakes to our neighbours under her own initiative.
Q . When you’re not working, what are you doing?
I love to read, I try to buy two books a month; whether I get through reading them in the one-month period is another thing, haha, but I try. I am currently reading “The World for Sale by Javier Blas and Jack Farchy.” Yesterday, I got “The Man Without a Face; the unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin by Masha Gessen.”
And of course, I love cooking.
Professional Questions
Q . What do you think is missing in the national agenda to commercialise the nation’s gas resource and how best can it be achieved?
For me, this discussion is even beyond maximizing our gas resources as a nation, it is the entire Oil and Gas industry. While we acknowledge there has been some progress, the speed of that transformation is the problem. The entire discuss globally around your traditional fossil fuels is changing and how have we positioned as a nation; is the question. Whether you want to look at this from the angle of oil will never go out of fashion or gas can serve as a transient energy, we need to do more as a nation to attract the level of investments to spur our much needed national development. It is no longer news that Foreign Direct investments (FDIs) are being pumped into other countries in Africa, such as Ghana, Tanzania, Egypt, etc. Whilst our gas reserves account for about 33% on the continent, over the last ten years, not even up to a tenth of that investment came into Nigeria. Recent discussions have been around opportunities springing up in Europe due to what is happening with the Russia-Ukraine matter but have we even looked within Africa. What of even servicing the Gulf of Guinea, energy demand in Africa is still rising with a growing population, even right here in Nigeria.
The sort of turn around we desire and need requires a more serious enabling and stable environment, an environment that respects contracts, sanctity of agreements. Those are the signals that investors are on the lookout for, whether those funds are for oil or gas. And of course, with the focus now on cleaner energy, it gets even more challenging harnessing those funds. Any investor channelling funds into a project, is looking to profit, creating value and the security of that investment. If you weigh the other
“We need to work for it; the more you go up the ladder and the corporate pipeline, the less number of qualified women you find to fill in those spaces.
antecedents, side by side with a struggling economy as ours, we must deliberately start as a country to do better. In my opinion, this remains the biggest challenge. For a country that joined the portfolio of oil producers since 1958, the measurable outputs we have today is a paradox of the quantum of resources we have.
Q . With a view to the challenging environment on insecurity and crude oil theft, how do you navigate in communities where you have operations?
We are in the very heart of the Niger Delta and daily try to create the critical balance that is required for working with our host communities. We work with state security forces and credible vendors from the community who provide surveillance services whilst constant engagement and discussions with these same communities also assist.
For companies such as ours in the upstream space, the use of technology to improve our production efficiency, prevent losses and reduce costs cannot be over-emphasised; refer to my statement above on working hard but also smartly. On OML42 we also have adopted an alternative barging and Floating, Storage and Evacuation (FSO) system which we use for our crude evacuation against the traditional use of the Trans Farcodos Pipeline (TFP) which serves our area of operation. The TFP has been prone to incessant shutdown and downtimes which we have to a huge extent sidetracked with this system. However, we still do have a network of pipeline and wells that require constant monitoring. Research and Development has evolved a lot and provided a bouquet of smart solutions that can be used for remote monitoring and even assist with decision-making especially as it relates to resource allocation. For us as business owners, the onus remains to maximize value, potentials and shareholders’ expectations from this asset. Some of our ongoing discussions and budgeting are around the deployment of more capital funding for the procurement of systems which can aid us with manning and monitoring.
While all these are ongoing, we are still working with our host communities to put in place more structures which will help streamline our ley performance indicators (KPIs) as a company and the expectations of the communities. We still have plans for executing more projects which can provide and improve direct impact on the lives of the populations of our communities. As an indigenous company, we remain committed towards creating better lives for our fellow Nigerians in our area of operation.
May I mention here, the entrant of the new Petroleum Industry Act(PIA) is also seeking to restructure the management of host community relations and we are hoping our activities can be further streamlined with this too. The PIA mandates the creation of the HCDT, which a trust for the benefit of the host communities to which oil and gas operators (described as “settlors”) are obliged to make annual contributions based on three per cent of their yearly operating expenditure. The HCDT is expected to improve the quality of life of the host communities and improve accountability in the management of development funds. It also should in the long run replace the use of GMoUs for this purpose. The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has begun initial engagement with the industry in this regard and we are following up.
“I love to read, I try to buy two books a month;
Q . How do you manage the funding challenge as a private player and how do you deal with receivables from the power sector which happens to be a major part of the gas value chain?
The illiquidity and foreign exchange mismatch matters still remain the biggest issues for the power sector in Nigeria today. When you place that along the Gas pricing issues, it becomes an imperative for any investor to find creative ways for covering costs and securing your investment which these days are not so readily available.
For now, we are supporting the Domestic Market supply through the Nigerian Gas Marketing Company (NGMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and some other private sector investors. Today, different instruments and securitisation can be deployed premised on the Gas Sales Agreements (GSAs) in use per transaction which include Bank Guarantees, Letters of Credits, Security Deposits, Escrow Arrangements and even Upfront payments. All these, of course, depend on the type of contract and other antecedents. We are also seeing more of captive power projects with strictly identified bankable offtakers.
We must recognise that the current issues along the Nigerian power sector value chain cannot be solved overnight. There is need for more collaboration from the upstream right down to the last mile man to create the level of market confidence and comfort to lenders. Every part of this value chain is laden with very deep and serious legacy issues that certainly cannot be resolved in silos. The Gas pricing issue should be left to market forces; we are stifling growth by putting ceilings. Investors are looking for buffers that can take care of scuttled economics (which tends to happen in an economy like this) and that will come hugely from pricing.
Q . Can you give us an overview of the progress of the Gas Business on OML 42 and what we expect to see in the next 5 to 10 years?
On OML42 we have two buckets of Gas, Associated and Non-Associated. We at Neconde Energy Limited along with our JV partners, Nigeria Petroleum Development Company(NPDC), have continued to juggle capital expenditure and succeeded in reducing to a considerable level the flares on the asset. Since 2018, we have been feeding the Domestic Gas market and with Gas reserves at over 6TCF, our target remains, to being responsible for about 12% of Nigeria’s total domestic gas supply in the next five years. Investments have been made in upgrading our gas gathering and export facilities as well as outright fresh injection of infrastructure to support the target.
“Whilst our gas reserves account for about 33% on the continent, over the last ten years, not even up to a tenth of that investment came into Nigeria”.
We are also looking and discussing opportunities of collaboration with other players in the space in terms of possible infrastructure sharing as well as viable market development. Recall, for us in the Gas Industry, the bankable and paying market ultimately drives the investments. The company and my mandate as Head of the Gas Business here remains working with the Federal Government in delivering on its initiative of the Decade of Gas. Like I always say, Gas is the new Crude.
” The sort of turn around we desire and need requires a more serious enabling and stable environment, an environment that respects contracts, sanctity of agreements”.
We also commend the final passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill which is now an Act and now referred to as the PIA. This has provided the long awaited regulated framework the industry had been agitating for. For us in the Gas sector, some of the wins included incentivisation into the midstream sector, open access which would create a basis for competitive gas supply, competition regulation and focus on the fiscal regime. A touchy subject as I have said, still remains the control on gas pricing; for which the industry has encouraged the Federal Government to liberalise and allow market forces rule. We are grateful for the progress but we will continue to engage and advocate at forums.
“The illiquidity and foreign exchange mismatch matters still remain the biggest issues for the power sector in Nigeria today”.
