NIGERIA’s economy will grow this year, Samsung Heavy Industries Nigeria (SHIN) Limited has said.
The firm, which is the operator of Africa’s leading marine fabrication and integration yard in Lagos, said the location and economic growth of the country make for a strong business case, adding that the country has enormous human capital which is also a strong attraction.
Its Managing Director, Mr. Jeijin Jeon, who spoke in Lagos, said harnessing the nation’s potential with its local partners would help place the country on the global map.
These considerations, he stated, influenced the company to choose Nigeria as the location for its first construction facility outside Korea.
Jeon said: “We are not alone in our observations. In its recently published African Energy Outlook Report 2020, the African Energy Chamber outlined Africa’s growing demand for energy which is being met by new oil & gas resources coming online. As the African continent continues to urbanise, the demand for power increases.”
Jeon acknowledged the efforts of the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr. Simbi Wabote, in pushing to expand the Nigerian Local Content Act to new sectors of the economy, including power, construction and infromation communication technology (ICT).
According to him, this also presents a tremendous opportunity for natural gas as a power generation resource in areas which lack some of the needed infrastructure.
He enjoined the leading international companies in Africa to support the domestic industry through investment capital, training and knowledge transfer.
“I say this from experience, having led SHIN’s efforts to construct the flagship of the Nigerian offshore oil sector, the Egina FPSO. Before the Egina project, most maritime construction for African oil and gas projects took place outside of Africa.
“The Egina proved that strict local content rules can work and produce international quality results. Following the Egina project, we are now focusing on leveraging our experience in local content and vessels for the oil and gas sector to complete work for other Nigerian oil fields such as Bonga Southwest and the HI-Block project.
“We are also committed to supporting the development of LNG projects by constructing Floating LNG platforms.
“This will help countries develop gas-to-power projects to meet rising electricity demand while also reducing wasteful gas flaring. Like its parent company, Samsung Heavy Industries, SHIN has always partnered with local and regional operators in the oil & gas sector,” he said.
