Mr. Kave Godwin is the Managing Director of Pumpking Oilfield Services Limited ' an Indigenous oil services company.The Benue State born geologist says the much-sermonised Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) will boost the nation's battered economy.WHAT is your view of Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB)'Passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is best thing that would happen to Nigeria. The bill, if passed in its original drafted copy as against its doctored form flying about today, shall set the stage for giant development strides in the country. There is, therefore, the need for the legislative arm of government to carry out its statutory function by passing the bill into law. Once it is passed, transparency in oil and gas industry shall be achieved. Indeed, it is a truism to say that oil and gas industry has been characterised by opaqueness and high- level secrecy.The bill shall remove opaqueness in a scale never witnessed. Consequently, data would be accessible to all interested investors. One of the benefits of the bill will be creation of thousands of jobs in the industry,compulsory execution of corporate social responsibility (CSR) for host communities, end to gas flaring and commercialisation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). For gas flaring to reduce, PIB has to be passed and implemented to the letter; stringent regulations engineered, while investors be wooed into the sector.But do you see deregulation as part of initiative to reform petroleum sector'Deregulation is a good concept, and if properly implemented, Nigerian populace shall be better for it. There are indeed several benefits of deregulation. It will take away lot of inefficiency and wastage; frees funds for government to carry out developmental projects. At the end, the citizens will be better for it because products will be available and supply line will uninterrupted in the face of improved facilities and services. So, deregulation, I believe, will open up market to investors for healthy competition.What challenges have you experience in the oil sector'Our most challenging period was the first six months of our coming on stream. We came in with a lot of expectations and hopes buoyed with high levels of enthusiasm. But these were to be deflated sooner than later as we were faced with stark realities of the business world. We discovered that the competition was tougher and dirtier than we had envisaged. We also discovered that as a young company just coming into the market, the chances of winning a direct contract with the oil majors and other major contractors were slim. Everyone was asking for previous job experience of our company butnot that of the personnel going to execute the job.A new company could have the best hands, but because it is yet to carry out any project, it could be denied job opportunity. But it should not be so. There should be consideration for new indigenous companies who have shown promise as well. One may say that the Local Content Act is there to protect Nigerian companies. But I tell you something; it protects only the big indigenous companies who have formed themselves into a sort of cartel, whose admittance is really very difficult. So for a young company, it has to live at the mercy of the 'big boys'. This is an anomalous situation, which needs to be corrected. For over eight months after our takeoff, we never saw any job later when the jobs started trickling down in the form of subcontracts. We took the jobs and there after, we were able to stand on our feet.Today, Pumpking Oilfield Services Limited parades state-of-the-art equipment and deploys these in the execution of her projects. Commitment to the maintenance of our equipment is thus a fundamental component for our core principle of operational excellence. We realised that without well maintained equipment, we will not be able to provide our customers with reliable and quality service they deserve. Furthermore, providing our experienced field crews with well maintained equipment is a crucial element to the retention of their skills. We continually strive to improve life of our equipment through constant search for improved maintenance procedures and reliable components.One philosophy we have come to adopt at Pumpking is client is the king and must be treated as such; we value our clients and devote a lot of time in giving them exceptional services, even more than requested. We believe in always exceeding our customers' expectations. This attitude has placed us ahead of our competitors. When it comes to mesmerising our clients with unique services, we often ignore the cost implication. Our belief is through our quality work, we shall be differentiated out from others.Our business philosophy has not gone unnoticed. Our landmark achievement was our winning the African Gold Award for Proficiency in Pipeline Flooding, Gauging and Chemical Cleaning Technology in 2011. The award was given by the Institute for Government Research and Leadership Technology in Lagos. The most striking thing about the award is that it came when we least expected it- within a year and half of our operating as a service company. That was a time when we were still battling with the usual teething problems associated greenhorn companies. When one looks at our competitors, one would expect that we would be dwarfed by their sheer size and experience. No! We have something going for us. That is our quality service delivery and policy of always exceeding the expectations of our clients at very minimal cost.Our policy thrust is to become a consistent top performer in the oil and gas industry- through improved processes and competences -to achieve astronomical growth, expand market and geographic presence through organic growth and acquisitions.The vision of the founders of Pumpking Oilfield Services Limited is to make our company the global leader in providing pipelines and wells pumping solutions to selected markets, create value for our customers by providing them with competitive and innovative services that set industry standards by offering services that will be innovative, responsive and technically excellent, while meeting the highest standards of quality, environment, health and safety.Our major service deliveries are in the areas of pipelines and well maintenance services. We are involved in the following services: Pipeline flooding, pipeline pressure-testing/hydro testing, pipeline de-watering, pipeline de-oiling, pipeline drying, nitrogen packing, pigging and pipeline services.Others include pipeline pre-commissioning, pipeline abandonment/de-commissioning, auxiliary pumping/ flow augmentation, well stimulation services, well testing, filtration services, chemical injection, cathodic protection, pipeline valve installation and overhauling and pipeline valve leak detection.
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