Overview:
Experts say they expect about 160,000 jobs to be created by the oil and gas sector, both direct and indirect jobs, and hence it is prudent for Ugandan companies to prepare themselves to benefit.
Contractors seeking to tap in the oil and gas sector have been urged to venture into partnerships, build and maintain good financial management practices and good working relations with financial institutions.
Speaking during the oil and gas symposium organised by Stanbic Uganda Holding Limited on Tuesday, 30 August 2022, experts said they expect about 160,000 jobs to be created by the oil and gas sector, both direct and indirect jobs, and hence it is prudent for Ugandan companies to prepare themselves to benefit.
“Oil and Gas sector is a capital intensive sector. If you are having trouble with finances, you can work with banks or consider a joint venture,” Jerommy Nduru, the head of Procurement and Logistics at Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC), said.
He, however, warned the contractors against misusing the contract funds.
“The money you get is not for buying a Mercedes Benz, it is for executing your contractual duties,” Nduru added.
Jim Akaya, the Projects Operations Director at E360, urged the bidding firms to consider building systems so as to win trust.
“You need to make the first step of creating systems before you participate in the Oil and Gas bidding process. We encourage everyone to bid. If you have less resources, partner with others to pool resources and you will qualify,” he said.
Victoria Namusoke, the Sector Head for Oil & Gas at Stanbic Bank Uganda, said because many national content players are desperate to enter the oil & gas sector, they end up negotiating so low which makes delivery of the contract terms difficult.
“It is very important to maintain a good relationship with the bank because it makes subsequent borrowing very easy,” she said.
Oil and Gas sector is a capital intensive sector. If you are having trouble with finances, you can work with banks or consider a joint venture,”
Jerommy Nduru, head of Procurement and Logistics at Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC),
“You need to strike a balance between the cash you borrow and what you put in from other sources,” she added.
Tony Otoa, the head of Stanbic Business Incubator Limited, said the bank understands the contract cycle and they have come up with financing solutions every step of the way.
“We have linkages to Oil and Gas players and we are able to get you access that would usually be hard for you to get,” he said.
The Stanbic Oil and Gas Series 2022 Oil and Gas Symposium is being held under Theme: Bid management and financing options.
The objective of the panel is to address the information gap that suppliers have towards qualifying for bids that are advertised by IOCs and their contractors.
Stanbic Uganda Holding Limited in partnership with other institutions with a similar mandate to empower & grow businesses is running monthly Topical Oil and Gas series that are shorter interventions that address a particular information gap.