04 April 2018, Sweetcrude, Lagos – Minister of States for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has tasked indigenous oil and gas company, Oando Plc, on transparency.
Kachikwu made the charge, Tuesday at the commissioning of Oando’s head office, the Wings Complex, located at Ozumba Mbadiwe Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Delivering a speech as a special guest at the 27,000 square meters office complex, the minister urged Oando to exhibit transparency in all its dealings.
According to him, his expectation as the company begins business at the new office is that its management would further concretise openness in its operations with both its staff and the public.
“I congratulate you for this outstanding achievement which is a huge investment in business.
“It is my expectation that as you move into this new building, transparency will be one of your watchwords, transparency inwardly and to the public. Being open in all that you do is very important”, Kachikwu said.
How Oando scaled through oil price crash – Wale Tinubu
Also speaking at the event, Oando’s Group Chief Executive, Wale Tinubu, revealed how the company was able to wade through the 2015 oil price crash.
According to him, the new head-office building, known as Wings Office Complex, which construction began in 2014, was faced with a serious challenge following the crash in oil price from over $100 per barrel to below $30 per barrel.
“The idea of the Wings complex was conceived in 2008. By 2014 when we finally gathered the team and began the project, oil price crash raised its ugly head in 2015. We almost couldn’t continue the project but with the help of our partners and determination to press forward, we were able to complete it,” he said.
Tinubu added that the 60 percent devaluation of the naira during the recession period had also bitten hard on the company.
However, according to him, the company was still able to forge ahead with the project which cost it and its partners about $150 million, with $100 million of the fund provided by Stanbic IBTC.