Building Africa's Biggest Oil Facility (Worth $30 billion)

HOW to attain greatness and sustain leadership according to John Maxwell is for an entrepreneur to be focused and believe in what he is doing regardless of criticism that the future of the business is uncertain. This is exactly the case of the Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited, Mr. Ifeanyi Patrick Ubah, who entered the downstream sub-sector of the petroleum industry with a purpose to take over the leadership of the industry. This is not in terms of promises as it is being practised by the political class, but through steady investment which by all standards is incomparable in Nigeria today.

Perhaps, the mentioning of Capital Oil today makes Major Oil Marketers to shiver as a result of proactive and strategic steps he took diligently in driving businesses previously thought are exclusively for the Majors with foreign control. And that is why at the peak of long queues for fuel by motorists as a result of poor distribution arrangement, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in appreciation of the company’s investment in jetty, storage and truck park facilities worth over $30 billion took a wise decision by signing a partnership agreement with Capital Oil and Gas.

The expectation of who and who will dominate activities in the downstream sub-sector of the African oil industry therefore requires analysis of influences that Ubah may have in the nearest future. Perhaps the advice that the downstream sub-sector is too small for Capital Oil and Gas to operate by the Minister of State for Works Engineer Chris Ogienwonyi who was the former Group Executive Director (Exploration and Production) of NNPC during the inauguration of the company’s Mega truck park is an indication that International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in the upstream sub-sector may again have difficulties in acquiring juicy oil blocks, if Mr Ubah decides to participate with good technical and commercial packages in the 2010 licensing round. Indeed, it is now clear that if not for the investment made by Capital Oil in jetty facilities, long queues witnessed in the country in 2009 would have become a permanent feature of the downstream sub-sector until the Federal Government decides to implement full deregulation.

Perhaps like a typical Igbo trader, he is a spoiler for petroleum marketers making cut throat profit from sales of diesel and throughput fee for storing products at his depots. His plans to set up a refinery in the country on completion of the ongoing expansion of his depots will also be a major threat to existing refineries based on his philanthropic ideology of always giving back to the society at the least price. Hence, the fear of crashing the prices of petroleum products by capitalists operating in the sector may be a great challenge in securing final approval for construction of a mega refinery in the country due to expectation of lower exdepot prices for quality petroleum products from his proposed refinery.

Who is Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah?
Mr. Ubah holds a Bachelor of Science B.Sc (Hons.) degree in International Relations. He hails from Nnewi, Anambra State of Nigeria. An astute and accomplished businessman, Ubah has been actively involved in top flight international business ranging from oil and gas, telecommunication, real estate and general merchandise for over two decades.

He started engagement in business activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo and from there, in 2001, he came back to Nigeria to commence investment in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. According to him, he spent four years to study the market and prepared for a bold move that resulted in the creation of Capital Oil and Gas and inauguration of the first depot in March 2007.

Achievements
The depots of Capital Oil and Gas Industries with a total capacity of 175 million litres is located at Ibafon in Lagos. The depots belonging to Mr Ubah currently cover about 30 per cent of the total area used for oil storage comprising over 18 private depots at Ibafon. The company’s state of-of-the-art facility has an excellent deepwater berth which enables discharge of products from four mother vessels at the same time to any of the 18 depots. He is currently building a new loading gantry with 22 bays and when completed the daily throughput of the depots with 28 bays would be 55million litres. In preparation for the commencement of deregulation, Mr. Ubah has also acquired four tanker vessels and 400 state-of-the-art trucks making the company the leading tanker fleet operator in Nigeria with over 600 haulage trucks to support the operations of the largest private facility in Nigeria.

His latest innovation is a 22,000 litre mobile filling station/dispensing truck made up of multiple metered dispensing gadgets of international standards. Also, in effort to help ease congestion on Lagos roads, especially the ever-busy Apapa-Oshodi expressway, he has completed the construction of a mega truck park capable of accommodating 1,100 trucks at any given time and can serve 5,500 trucks daily on a shift basis.

Future
Mr. Ubah commenced the construction of strategic regional petroleum products reserves nationwide recently. The ongoing projects are located at Suleja in Niger State, Funtua in Katsina State, Kano, Emene in Enugu State and Onitsha in Anambra State. These projects will enhance accessibility to local market, relief from recurring fuel shortages and boost employment opportunities. His refinery project in the medium term is also another ambitious project that will add value to the image of Nigerians abroad and in other African countries such that Nigeria as a giant of Africa is also producing a giant firm the continent’s oil industry.

“The truth is that we must begin to appreciate that it is only Nigerians that can put down funds and be so committed to establish a refinery in the country. No foreigner will do it. In fact they have proved they can not do it because in the over 20 years of major marketers doing business in Nigeria, none of them have considered it worthy to establish a refinery in Nigeria, they have not even thought of doing it as a group,” Ubah added.

Fulfilling his promise to make available part of the company shares to the general public in the capital market will crown his past achievements in giving back to the society as a philanthropist.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/sun/index.php/sunday-business/1206-ifeanyi-ubah-building-africas-largest-oil-facilities