Can you give a brief overview of BRADE and the services the company offers in Africa?

We leverage on the expertise and successful experiences from the strategic alliances we have with companies in the areas of environmental services, integrated project management, production management and optimization, heavy duty equipment, and other oil and gas related support services.

The Groups’ subsidiaries are: BRADE Consulting, Stefan & Kevin West Africa, BRADE Chemical Solutions, BRADE West Africa Ghana, BRADE Oil and Gas Uganda and BRADE Petroleum and Energy Services.

Can you elaborate on the technologies BRADE utilizes to offer the best services to clients?

BRADE utilizes modern technologies that are geared towards reducing our client’s production costs, so we focus on maintaining quality of world class standards while improving productivity and reducing costs. For example, by using NOV’s Seabox subsea water treatment unit and SWIT technology, we can reduce costs for our clients and reduce environmental impact. Water injection is the most common way to increase oil production since for every barrel of oil you need three barrels of water. With the Seabox and SWIT technology, water treatment is done directly at the seabed and the treated water is pumped straight into the injection well. This allows operators to optimize water flooding with the right quality water at any time and location, and thus to improve recovery. The technology enables treatment of raw seawater directly on the seabed to the desired quality for injection into oil wells for pressure support, sweep and increased oil recovery.

Can you give insights into the processes BRADE can provide which are geared to environmental sustainability?

BRADE Group contributes to sustainable operations by environmental services including general environmental management consulting, environmental and social due diligence, geographic information systems services, social risk management systems, environmental evaluation studies, social impact assessment studies, post impact assessments, environmental impact assessment, biodiversity studies as well as environmental and socio-economic baseline surveys, preparation of oil spill contingency plans, oil impacted site investigation and monitoring, and remediation and ecological rehabilitation of impacted sites.

2020 has been claimed as the year for natural gas in Nigeria. Do you think that the country has the infrastructure in place to support the rise of this subsector?

There is the potential for Nigeria to grow, but the speed at which the country can grow is a limitation. Looking at the estimated volume of fabrication that is expected to happen in the next three years, Nigeria does not yet have the capacity.  

In what way have the local content regulations in Nigeria facilitated BRADE’s growth?

BRADE is a 100% Nigerian company. The government is very conscious of local content development and there is a strong drive to localize many activities and operations led by the NCDMB. There is, however, a lot of implementation lacking. There needs to be more deliberate support for local companies that are struggling in a very difficult business environment where liquidity is still a huge challenge. There needs to be a deliberate drive to ensure that local companies can tap into capital made available by the government or foreign organizations.

The interest rate for loans is typically anywhere from 22% to 25%. This means that local companies taking out a loan have to be at 40% profitability, which is a lot to ask in a business environment such as the one in Nigeria.  

Can you elaborate on the recession Nigeria experienced in 2016?

The oil and gas industry experienced the worst recession it has ever had in the past 50 years in 2016. Due to the country’s over reliance on oil and gas, the economy crashed. Fortunately, we were able to survive, but it was an unbelievably difficult period.

The Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) has been in the air for approximately two decades. Would the passing of the Bill affect BRADE’s operations in any way? 

Absolutely. The PIB aims to bring more value for Nigeria and Nigerian companies. It involves taking ownership of projects that are in the hands of the IOCs and creating value. If the bill is properly executed, I believe that it will achieve its laudable goal of creating value for the entire country and improve opportunities for Nigerian companies.

What are BRADE’s objectives moving forward?

BRADE strives to continue our growth. We are properly positioned, with the right skill set, mentality and integrity to move forward. We want to attract the right people with the right attitude, as that forms the bedrock of a company. We want to be the leading company in the market and the service provider of choice. Nigeria is a wonderful country that offers a lot of opportunity.