NIGERIA AMAZON WOMEN IN OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY

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Growing numbers of women in Oil and Gas in Nigeria should be taken seriously that if female talents are harness properly can change the narrative in the sector which remained dormant of male. For instance in the transportation of oil and gas, storage of oil and gas, refining of oil and processing of gas, marketing of oil and gas among others.Even the impact of oil and gas exploration, production and revenues on the Nigerian environment, politics and economy and a myriad of other issues like the lawyer, petroleum geologist, petroleum engineer, policy makers, investors, local and international development agencies and bodies, lecturers and  students specialising in wide ranging subjects as economics, development studies, engineering, management, public administration, insurance, marketing, accounting and finance in the sector that are prove most useful are not comprehensively covered by women.

 

For a while, the oil and gas industry was generally considered as a man’s world. But times have changed and more women are beginning to call the shots in the highly lucrative field. TOFARATI IGE chronicles the exploits of some of them

Folorunsho Alakija

Regarded as one of the richest black women in the world, Folorunsho Alakija is the Vice-Chairman of Famfa Oil Limited.

The beautiful woman started her career as an executive secretary at Sijuade Enterprises, Lagos, before moving to the First National Bank of Chicago. After sometime, she established a tailoring company called Supreme Stitches, through which she catered to a lot of high profile clients. She later changed the name of the company to Rose of Sharon House of Fashion and went on to become a national president and lifelong trustee of the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria.

However, Alakija’s fortune changed for the better when her company, Famfa Limited, was awarded the licence to explore for oil on a 617,000-acre block called OPL 216. Some years later, she entered into a joint venture agreement with Star Deep Water Petroleum Limited— a subsidiary of Texaco— and appointed the company as a technical adviser for the exploration of the licence, transferring 40 per cent of her 100 per cent stake to the company.

After the company struck oil, the government tried to take a 50 per cent stake in the organisation but Alakija pursued the case in court and eventually won.

In 2014, she was listed as the 96th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes Magazine.

Through her non-governmental organisation, Rose of Sharon Foundation, Alakija has empowered many widows, orphans and underprivileged people.

Catherine Uju-Ifejijka

Call her a woman with an uncommon courage and you wouldn’t be wrong. Catherine Uju-Ifejika studied Law at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1986. A member of the Nigerian Bar Association, she is also a Fellow of the Institute of Arbitration and Conciliaiton.

Uju-Ifejika started her career in the oil and gas industry in 1987 when she joined the legal department of Texaco as a junior counsel. She later rose to become the company’s secretary for public and government affairs for West Africa.

She joined Britannia-U Nigeria Limited in 2007 (a subsidiary of the Britannia-U Group) as the CEO and has continued to steer the affairs of the company admirably, garnering several accolades along the line. The company’s activities include oil exploration and production, refining, trading, supply and distribution, upstream (exploration and production), downstream (supply and trading), shipping and sub-surface engineering.

Respected for her never-say-never attitude, Uju-Ifejika has recorded several achievements at the helm of the company, including establishing the Ajapa floating production storage unit. She also has the record of setting up six subsidiary companies in seven years. Other firms associated with her include Data Appraisal Company Limited, Nexttee Oil and Gas Trading Company Nigeria Limited and Brittania-U Ghana Limited.

She also served on the Board of Directors of the Federal Ministry of Arts and Culture between 2001 and 2002.

Her efforts have not gone unnoticed as she has won several awards both within and outside Africa.

Amy Jadesimi

The saying, ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ aptly describes the Chief Executive Officer of Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base, Amy Jadesimi. Petite and soft-spoken, her looks belie her strength and brilliance.

Jadesimi received her first degree in Physiological Sciences from Oxford University, England, before proceeding to Oxford University Medical School, where she graduated as a medical doctor.

Upon graduation from medical school, Jadesimi joined Goldman Sachs International in London as part of the investment banking division of the company, specialising in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions.

Driven by the thirst for more knowledge, she went on to attend Stanford Business School, California, USA, where she bagged a Master’s degree in Business Administration. While at Stanford, she did an internship with a firm called Brait Private Equity in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she functioned as a transaction executive in private equity. The hard-working woman then moved to Nigeria where she set up a financial consultancy firm before joining the management team of LiLe as Managing Director.

She joined LADOL in 2004 and she has seen to the expansion of the company in several ways. The company’s base is specifically designed to meet the logistical needs of deep water offshore oil and gas operations and projects in and around Nigeria.

In 2014, Forbes Magazine included her in ‘The 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa’. She is also a founding member of the Business and Sustainable Development Commission.

Godrey Ogbechie

A 1988 graduate of Agricultural Economics and Extension of the University of Calabar, Godrey Ogbechie is a classic definition of a beautiful woman with brains.

She started her career in the banking industry where she worked with Universal Trust Bank Limited and Fidelity Bank Plc. While in the banking sector, she worked in different areas spanning operations, customer service/relationship management, audit and human resource management.

After a fulfilling time in the financial sector, Ogbechie joined Rainoil Limited (owned by her husband, Gabriel) as the Group Executive Director. Bringing her wealth of experience to bear on the operations of the company, her impact has been felt in different areas of the company. She oversees the corporate support service functions of the company which include human resources, information technology, and administration and facilities management.

Unlike some businesses run by married couples, Ogbechie has said that her working relationship with her husband has been very smooth and this has in turn led to the growth of the company.

Victoria Samson

Victoria Samson started her career in the oil and gas industry as a dealer with Texaco Nigeria Limited.

Highly focused and hard-working, Samson distinguished herself in Texaco and at a point, she got the Best Dealer Award of the company.

She went on to co-found the Bovas Group with her husband, Bamidele Samson, in 1980 and started operations as an indigenous independent petroleum marketing company, before opening their first filling station in 1991 at Osogbo, Osun State. Presently, the company operates 119 service stations around the country. The firm also opened a liquefied petroleum gas plant in 1995 and presently has about 20 operational gas skids.

Audrey Joe-Ezigbo

Like some others on this list, Audrey Joe-Ezigbo co-founded Falcon Corporation Limited with her husband, Joe. The oil and gas outfit’s services range from engineering, procurement, construction, real estate and natural gas distribution, and Audrey’s contribution to the company’s growth cannot be overstated.

As the Executive Director, Commercial Operations, of the company, Audrey’s hands-on approach has added in no small measure to the firm’s success story. A speaker and trainer on different areas of management, entrepreneurship and business strategy, the delectable lady clearly knows her onions.

Audrey, who is also the Managing Director and principal strategist of Falcongaz Limited, sits on the board of several corporations and is the president of the Nigeria Gas Association.

Bola Shagaya

Perhaps known more as a socialite, what many may be unaware of is Bola Shagaya’s business acumen.

Regarded as one of the richest and most fashionable women in the country, Shagaya is the Managing Director of Practoil Limited, a company that imports and distributes base oil in Nigeria. She also founded another exploration company called Voyage Oil and Gas Limited.

She started her career with the audit department of the Central Bank of Nigeria before venturing into business on her own. One of her earliest business activities was the importation and distribution of photographic materials in Nigeria and West Africa. Her other interests cut across real estate, and fashion, and she is a friend of many bigwigs in the country.

Shagaya studied Economics at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna; and Accountancy at Armstrong College, California, USA.

Awuneba Ajumogobia

A fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Awuneba Ajumogobia is also a co-founder and director of Multistream Energy Limited.

She studied Economics at the University of Ibadan and has worked with companies including Peat Marwick Ani Ogunde and Company, Deloitte and Arthur Andersen (now Accenture).

Her experience in the financial sector has come in handy as she has helped to properly structure the finances of her company.

She is an associate of the non-profit organisation— Women in Management, Business and Public Service, and the Chairperson of the Governing Council of Grange Education Limited.

 


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