Move Back To Nigeria: “Do Not Limit Your Scope!” Oladipo Ashafa Shares His Experience in the Oil & Gas Industry

Move Back to Nigeria is a series on BellaNaija which aims to encourage young and not-so-young professionals in the diaspora who are trying to make the decision of whether to move back to Nigeria. In collaboration with the brilliant team at MoveBackToNigeria.com, we hope to bring you a weekly interview with individuals who have successfully made the leap, considering the leap, as well as those who have tried it and realized it is not for them. MoveBacktoNigeria.com’s mission is to showcase stories of Nigerians abroad who have moved back home and are taking giant strides, often against all odds and to serve as inspiration to others. This, however, does not preclude us from sharing stories of the people who have moved back and are facing various challenges.

We caught up with Oladipo Ashafa this week. He is an Oil & Gas Professional who we initially spoke to last year upon his return to Nigeria.{Check it out here}  At the time his interview was anonymous, so we decided to follow up to see how things have progressed since he hit the ground running. However, this time we were determined that we would take off his ‘Mask of Zorro’ and have a fully attributed interview. We believe this interview is particularly helpful to Nigerians abroad thinking of moving back to work in the Oil & Gas industry. Just given the volume of applications per vacancy to ‘get in’, hear in Oladipo’s own words how to set yourself apart from the crowd.

Can you please introduce yourself and tell us who you are?
My name is Oladipo Ashafa and I am a trained Petroleum Engineer currently working for an international (E&P) Exploration and Producing company in Nigeria.

We spoke to you at some point last year. Can you give a summary of how things have been since?
Well from our previous conversation, as you know, I went to the University of Oklahoma, and then subsequently spent a few years working as a Reservoir Engineer in the US for a bit. Then I attempted to move back to Nigeria in 2008. I was a Drilling Engineering trainee with ExxonMobil, an experience which had dual benefit. First I was able to get some much needed offshore drilling experience; also, it provided an opportunity to serve in the NYSC scheme/scam. However, my ‘move back’ was short-lived. Soon after my service was complete, I went back to the US to gain some more global work experience as a Reservoir Engineer. I’m glad I did, as it gave me the chance to witness the shale gas and subsequent oil boom in the States. Again, after 3 years, I decided that it was time to further my academic knowledge, so I relocated to Dubai to sign up for a Masters Degree in Petroleum Engineering at Heriot-Watt University, a Scottish Institution which has a Dubai campus as I couldn’t see myself living in Edinburgh. That was the last leg of my international ‘waka’, as I finally moved back to Nigeria for good immediately after graduation.

If memory serves me well, that was about the time when we had our initial interview. At the time I was working for an up and coming Nigerian Exploration & Petroleum Company. Working there was probably the best experience thus far in my career. Working for a company of that size had a more intimate feel; however it was the collective brainpower in the building that I will always remember.

Since then, I traded post again. In November of last year, I moved to my current position, at my current employer.

Why did you move, and how did you find the transition from small Oil & Gas firm into one of the major E&P companies?
Well at the time the offer came in, I wasn’t really looking for a move. During the last few months at school, just before wrapping up my Masters Degree, I applied to many companies just as a means of hedging myself. I accepted the offer at my previous employer because it was the best offer – it stood out amongst all other offers. However, after about 8 months of working with them, I then got a call with an offer from my current company. To be honest, I had even forgotten that I had applied, as it had been over a year since the application, and many months since last contact, even before I started working in Nigeria. Initially I wasn’t keen to move but I started doing some more research and speaking to industry experts in Nigeria and they had me take a look at the offer again. I began to realise that coming into this company was a once in a life time opportunity and that the move would increase my core technical exposure, and provide more training and structured development to my career.

The transition has been textbook. As expected, I’ve gone from a slight big fish in a lagoon, to slightly less than middle-sized fish in the Atlantic Ocean.

Hmm… a year to get back to you on a job application. Is that a normal trend in Nigeria in general or is this specific to the company you work for?
Well as far as I know it’s fairly normal with Nigerian companies, especially the large ones in my industry to take the time to respond to your application. I’m sure they have their reasons, but I know it has happened to others. It’s not unknown for it to take a year or two between putting in an application to actually joining the company and getting your security pass. However, this is not necessarily unique to the Oil & Gas industry. Things generally move quicker abroad. I guess it might be due to the fact that within our industry in Nigeria, many Oil Companies are not in the broad exploration phase, many of the assets are determined and fully staffed up. So most of the hiring would be on replacing existing staff who move on, rather than for growth.

In Nigeria, many Oil & Gas Professionals tend to relocate to different cities with their jobs, have you had to do this in your case just yet?
Yes I have had to relocate to Port Harcourt. Last time we spoke, I lived in Lagos which is a city where I’m from, but I had to pack my bags and move to Port Harcourt. It’s a different ball game out here, with a different culture and nice people.

We’ve heard a lot about Port Harcourt. How does the city compare to living in Lagos for you, socially, security-wise and all that?
Lagos I know very well. I am from Lagos and grew up there. People talk about crime in Lagos but you have to point them to other major cities in the world like Paris, London, Houston, which also have their fair share of crime. When you have a major city, you are obviously going to have security challenges. Well with Port Harcourt, prior to moving here, I was not at all familiar with the layout. You hear about the same security challenges as you would about Lagos out here too, but the stories seem a lot scarier. But, I’ve been here for months now and I haven’t had any face to face encounter with crime *knocks on wood*. I go to work, come home, hang out and have things that keep me entertained. When you move to a new city, one of the first things to do is find out the neighbourhoods where you don’t want your car to break down in, and then stay away from those neighbourhoods. In terms of social stuff, I keep myself entertained but nothing too crazy. I’m here for work and to develop my career, so I stay focused on that.

How was the transition to Port Harcourt? Did your employers help with the relocation? Or did you have to make your own arrangements?
I had already been back in Nigeria when I accepted the offer for my current role, so they weren’t bringing me in as an expatriate. I was employed as a local citizen so of course I had to make my own arrangements when I moved to Port Harcourt. However, the company made some initial arrangements i.e. for the first couple of months here, I stayed in company accommodation.

Can you talk about your role? What do you do now versus what you did in your previous company?
My current role is pretty much similar to what I did in my previous company; the difference is in the size of the broad portfolio of assets. So I basically went from wearing multiple hats, while working on a few assets to working as a specialist on a large number of assets, and of course, with a larger team and larger resources. As with any transition from a smaller to larger outfit there are pros and cons. The pros are you work with more experienced guys, which gives you a more rounded experience. The con is, your voice is slightly less significant, as there are many other experienced professionals around. However, no matter the size of the company, the objective it to make a positive impact with the experience you bring in.

There is a general trend in the industry where larger companies are divesting shallow / onshore assets to deeper sea projects. Is this having an impact to what you do on a day to day basis?
As a Reservoir (Petroleum) Engineer, I work in the development phase so all that has nothing to do with my role. As far as we’re concerned, we just work with our teams to maximise the assets we have.

How would you say working in the industry in Nigeria compares to doing a similar role abroad? Do Nigerian companies adhere to the same standards as their overseas counterparts?
I would say it’s pretty much the same (apart from the lengthy and confusing HR onboarding process, Laughs). The Engineering / Development processes are the same from my experience working at home and abroad. We have the Society of Petroleum Engineers which helps to level the playing field globally. I think we are similar in the workflow, the way departments are structured, the project delivery etc. Obviously there are a few things which are different in terms of Nigerian culture. We are typically advised to be on a first name basis in Nigeria, but the ‘age respect’ factor seems to be an underlying thing here. Let me just say it might be helpful and less combative to address certain people in the office as: “Sir” or “Oga” etc.

In terms of pay, would you say larger Oil &Gas Companies tend to remunerate their employees better than smaller companies?
I think it’s on a case by case basis. At the end of the day it’s based on what you bring to the table. Yes when you are fresh from University it might be more lucrative to join a major Oil & Gas firm, however once you get past the 6 – 7 year experience mark, it’s all about how much value you add, and the smaller companies know they would need to pay the market rate to attract experienced professionals, so like I said it’s all about the value the company thinks you can create.

There has been a lot of talk about developing other industries in Nigeria e.g. Agriculture, to reduce the dependency on the Oil & Gas Sector for government revenues. Does this worry you at all i.e. if this will make the Oil & Gas industry less significant in future?
No I’m not worried at all. Yes the Agricultural space is growing, but these are things people need. People need to eat; people need water; and people need energy. I think our economy can handle more than one powerful industry. So yes I think it’s a positive for the economy that other industries are being developed further, it will only help to enhance our GDP. We are also trying to develop our Power Industry further, so that is another industry that will work hand in hand with ours to create a better future for Nigeria. To summarize, in my opinion, I’d say having Energy as a single focus of the economy is harmful.

In terms of the Power Industry, a lot of these Power Plants run on Gas, so what is your view on the Gas infrastructure in Nigeria? Are there enough pipelines to make sure these new Power Stations get adequately supplied?
‘You’ve turned me into Alison-Madueke Dizeani (Laughs)’.

I know Nigeria has the natural resources to meet demand but it’s a question for the Government to sort out any infrastructural and security challenges that currently exist. Yes the private sector has a role to play, but the Government, as the primary custodian of these resources, has to take the lead in that aspect. When you have a country of 160M people, you know the demand is there, so I’m sure in time the infrastructure will be sorted out.

On a broader perspective, you spend a lot of time in Port Harcourt, but do you see yourself visiting Lagos still and how do you find life there when you visit?
I do try and get back to Lagos as often as possible. My family is there and most of my friends are also. We still do the usual stuff hang out with friends; attend events, weddings etc. – the typical Lagos lifestyle.

Finally what advice will you give to Nigerians abroad who are thinking of moving back to Nigeria, particularly to get into the Oil & Gas industry at home?
I would say it’s an industry that appreciates experience. Although we hire out of school, the odds are stacked against graduates. For 1 job you might have about 15,000 applicants. It’s just the reality that there are not as many jobs to go around in this industry. I would advise getting some overseas work experience. If you are in the Petroleum Engineering space, I would advise you to join the Society of Petroleum Engineers, attend industry conferences, write a white paper and try to differentiate yourself from the crowd. Do a lot of networking. Speak to people and try and show your own value. Do not limit your scope. If you don’t find opportunities with the major companies, then work for the smaller indigenous companies, that’s how I started, Just get your work experience and become a competent industry professional.

Many thanks for your time and best wishes moving forward.

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The  primary objective of MoveBackToNigeria.com is to connect Nigerian professionals with various opportunities in Nigeria, ranging from recruitment drives to information & support regarding relocation processes, financial & tax advice and much more. Move Back To Nigeria also features social interest topics such as what’s on, where to live, how-to survival tips and so on. Consistently engaging with and featuring Nigerian professionals in weekly  interviews, Move Back To Nigeria regularly publishes social interest articles relevant to the general public. Everyone is welcome to their online discussions & fora and you are invited to air your views & suggestions on the topical and trending matters section. For more information and further inquiries, please contact [email protected].