Local contractors in oil sector get deadline to join JQS
THE Nigerian Petroleum Exchange (NIPEX) has given all contractors in the oil and gas sector until December 31 to register with the Joint Qualification System (JQS).
Dr. Makainti Banu, the Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), issued the directive recently in Eket, Akwa Ibom State, while speaking at a supplier awareness workshop on JQS.
Banu said after the deadline, only companies that are duly registered with NIPEX that would be allowed to handle contracts in the oil sector.
"After December 31, international oil exploration companies in the NNPC Joint Venture Projects must source all their contract needs from the JQS operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Exchange (NIPEX)," he said.
NIPEX, an initiative of NAPIMS, was established to serve as a clearing house for contracts in the oil sector.
From January 2008, NIPEX will serve as the only point where oil companies can source materials from vendors. It is an electronic market place where operations are done online.
Banu, who spoke through Mr. Hilary Akpan, NNPC's Manager in charge of JQS, explained that the system was designed to expand business opportunities for indigenous contractors in the oil and gas sector.
He stated that the system would ensure a uniform electronic contract procurement system for the industry.
"The objective is to reduce the procurement cycle," he said.
Under the online system, a service provider does not have to register with individual oil company as the companies will now rely on the JQS database to select pre-qualified contractors, Banu clarified.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that more than 800 suppliers and representatives of oil servicing companies attended the sensitisation workshop.
In her overview of the JQS, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, Head of Customer Exchange, told participants that the system was meant to reduce the processing time and cost of contracting processes in the oil and gas sector.
"This is a system where both suppliers and buyers are sure of fast, transparent and efficient process as every contract will be sourced from our online electronic database. It is hoped that this scheme will expose suppliers to more business opportunities," she said.
Eyesan told NAN that both NIPEX and the Local Content Department of the NNPC would ensure that the system strengthens the capacity of host communities' contractors in line with the local content policy of the Federal Government.
She said 278 suppliers had so far indicated interest to register while only 140 had completed the process.
Some of thecontractors who spoke to NAN, called for an extension due to what they claimed, as low level of information.
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