Barely one week after his election as the new Chairman, Mr. Bank Anthony Okoroafor led a team of 20 CEOs of PETAN companies to the head office of NAOC/NAE in Abuja on a courtesy visit.

It marks the beginning of a new era as one key thrust of his campaign promises was to have robust engagements with all international oil companies, IOCs and ensure a greater commitment to local content activities is elicited from them.

Due to massive exposures to cutting-edge technologies available on conference/exhibition platforms like OTC, GPS, ADIPEC among others, PETAN companies have improved in their capacities and capabilities to deliver on technical services in the Upstream sector of the industry. They have dared into deep offshore terrains and registered milestone achievements which hitherto seemed un-attainable. PETAN companies can now compete internationally having footprints in foreign countries like USA, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, and a couple of other African countries. .

Armed with this level of exposure, the new chairman, his board and executives of member companies do not see any reason why jobs within the capacities of PETAN companies should be exported..

The deliberation was fruitful as the ENI group, represented by its Vice Chairman/ CEO of NAOC and NAE, Mr Massimo Insulla, seeing the obvious cost-benefit realizable from engaging PETAN companies, promised to continue to look into ways they can improve their local content commitment to Nigerian companies without compromising on standards. He further shared a proposed plan he intends to follow through on future projects seeing that PETAN companies have documented evidences of their proven competencies.