X-raying the wisdom in NNPC’s expatriate recruitment, By James Olatunji Samuel

…truly commercial companies are expected to be more concerned about recruiting the right skill sets and competencies, without looking down on nationality or ethnicity. Moreso, the idea of ​​using foreign nationals is compatible with injecting world-class technical expertise into a company that has more than 99% Nigerians as staff. As long as the company has not exceeded the expatriate quota, it is also within the right to recruit qualified personnel from wherever they can be found in the world.

Currently, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd is hiring several foreign expatriates. In one of its communications on the issue, NNPC Ltd said the decision was to continue its ongoing repositioning drive towards better growth, better performance and better service delivery. The development, NNPC Ltd added in its statement, is in line with the company’s renewed aspirations as it consolidates its journey into a full-fledged commercial entity, as outlined in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

Interestingly, the development, typical of other issues in this country, is making the rounds in news forums and online discussion circles, with almost every Nigerian having an opinion on the matter. But what is the problem? Is it all a hassle? To put it more succinctly, why did NNPC Ltd decide to hire foreign nationals to head some critical business units? Who are these expatriates hired and more importantly, did NNPC Ltd break any rules in this act? This and many other posers will answer in this piece.

Before anything else: The arrival of PIA 2021 has empowered NNPC Ltd to expand its business portfolio, improve its bottom line and improve operational efficiency. This, of course, includes increasing their skill sets and competencies by hiring best-in-class personnel for their jobs. Moreso, for an organization that is now a limited liability company, certain decisions by NNPC Ltd are now expected to be purely for business reasons, which means the focus should be on improving the bottom line.

Therefore, in line with the above reasons, NNPC Ltd hired three expatriates to head three core business entities. The first hire was Huub Stokman, a Dutch national, who was hired as the Managing Director of NNPC Retail Ltd, one of NNPC’s important downstream portfolios. Next to arrive at the NNPC Tower is Mr. Jean-Marc Cordier, a French/Swiss citizen, who works as the Head of NNPC Ltd’s trading branch, NNPC Trading Ltd. A few days later, Nicolas Foucart, a Belgian, worked as the Chief Operating Officer of NNPC Exploration and Production Company (NEPL) Ltd.

Now, let’s answer the pertinent question: Who are these expats and what do they bring to the workforce? The Managing Director, NNPC Retail Limited (NRL), Mr. Huub Stokman, is a 1989 graduate of Business Administration and Management from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam). He also holds an International Executive Program (IEP) certificate in General International Management (1999) from the famous INSEAD Business School in France.

Stokman started his career at BP Nederland BV in 1989, holding several sales management and change management roles in the company for twenty-three years. He was at several BP locations in Germany, England, Austria and Ukraine, where he served at various times as Bitumen Division Manager, Central and Eastern Europe; Executive Assistant to Chief Executive Officer, Refining and Marketing; Manager, Strategy, Business Development and Performance; Manager, Retail Operations; Marketing Manager, Convenience Retail Europe and Vice President, Marketing and Board Member.

Between September 2014 and November 2017, Stokman served as General Manager, Puma Angola, overseeing the company’s retail forecourt operations; wholesale fuel; industrial customers; lubricants, bitumen and aviation businesses; as well as its fuel terminals and fuel distribution operations. In February 2018, Stokman joined OVH Energy services (Oando Licensee) as Chief Executive Officer, where, for five years, he led the company’s downstream oil and gas activities in Nigeria, Togo and Ghana, which exceeded 400 retail service stations. and create the third largest downstream company in Nigeria.

Mr. Stokman’s appointment in October 2022 marks an important milestone in the history of NNPC Ltd, as the national oil company acquires OVH Oando, taking over downstream assets under NNPC Ltd’s Accelerated Network Expansion (ANEX). The move resulted in NNPC Ltd adding a receiving dock (ASPM) with a monthly capacity of 240,000MT, eight LPG plants, three lubricant blending plants, three aviation depots, and 12 warehouses, to NNPC’s existing downstream assets. The acquisition also brings more than 380 additional filling stations under the NNPC retail brand in Nigeria and Togo, bringing the national oil company’s store to 1,500 stations.

As for Mr. Jean-Marc Cordier, he was hired as Head, NNPC Trading Ltd. A prominent oil trader, Cordier’s appointment was smaller than a major coup by NNPC Ltd. A French/Swiss national, Mr. Cordier holds a Master’s degree in Corporate Finance with distinction from the University of Paris 9. He brings over thirty years of experience in the global oil market in Asia and Europe. Notable among the roles he held, prior to his NNPC appointment, was the former vice president of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), one of the world’s leading oil giants.

A renowned international oil trader, Cordier comes to the role with a rich background of more than 30 years in physical oil, oil derivatives and risk management, with significant experience in the reorganization and creation of trading businesses. He spent 24 years with Elf Trading / Total Trading in various positions as Trader and Trading Desk Manager in Geneva, and four years as Global Trading Manager at Addax Energy in Geneva.

At Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) in Abu Dhabi, he served as Vice President of Middle Distillates; Senior Vice President, Risk Management; Senior team member responsible for building trading activities for ADNOC upon the launch of ADNOC Global Trading (AGT) in December 2020.

For NNPC Ltd, Mr. Cordier’s appointment will help achieve the strategic direction of NNPC Trading Ltd, which relies on optimizing crude trade and diversifying its portfolio (products and NGLs); expanding the local portfolio and penetrating international markets – Europe, Asia and Central Asia; also operating as a fully integrated international trading company, with equity in at least one refinery and one blending plant, in addition to strategic alliances with storage facilities. With Mr. Cordier’s three decades of experience in building successful international oil trading businesses in multiple jurisdictions, this is possible.

Mr. Nicolas Foucart was also accepted as COO of NEPL Ltd. A Belgian national, Foucart graduated in Civil Engineering in 1993 from Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and holds an M.Sc in 1994 in Foreign Engineering from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Mr. Foucart also holds an MBA in Global Energy from Wawrick University ( 2014). He started his career as a Project Engineer at the Spanish oil giant, Repsol, working on productive assets and development projects in the Issaounne oil field in Algeria. He has over 25 years of oil and gas industry experience at Repsol locations in Algeria, Spain, Bolivia, Venezuela and Colombia.

Between April 1997 and April 2013, Foucart rose through the ranks at Repsol working as Construction Manager, Asset Manager, Production Engineering Manager/HSE Coordinator, Project and Engineering Manager and Director. Between May 2013 and October 2015, he was transferred by Repsol to Cardon IV in Venezuela, where he was responsible for Phases 150 and 450 of the Offshore Perla Field Development Project.

Between November 2015 and September 2018, Foucart returned to Repsol, as Director of Cost Efficiency E and P and Program Director for RISE (Resilience, Innovation, Sustainability and Engagement) of the company, a vehicle designed to support Repsol E and P to achieve. business purpose. In October 2018, he was appointed Chief Operations Officer at Repsol Sinopec Resources UK Limited in Aberdeen, Scotland, England, where he is responsible for the safe and reliable operation of nine assets (one FPSO, seven fixed platforms and one land terminal).

After performing well in the role of COO, he was, in September 2022, promoted to Chief Executive Officer of the same Repsol entity. As CEO of Repsol Sinopec Resources UK Limited in Aberdeen, Scotland, England, Foucart was instrumental in improving the company’s operational performance in line with its strategic objectives.

So, did NNPC break the rules to hire these expatriates? The answer is NO! NNPC Ltd is not breaking any law by employing expatriates into its services. As a national oil company, NNPC Ltd, like other multinational companies operating in Nigeria, has a quota of expatriates approved by the Nigerian government for good reason. Nigeria’s Local Content Law is very clear on this issue. Multinational companies deal with business partners from different countries around the world and to facilitate international business, they may require the services of non-indigenous labor and expertise.

This, in addition to the fact that commercial firms are expected to be more concerned with recruiting the right skill set and competence, without recourse to any trivialities of nationality or ethnicity. Moreso, the idea of ​​using foreign nationals is compatible with injecting world-class technical expertise into a company that has more than 99% Nigerians as staff. As long as the company has not exceeded the expatriate quota, it is also within the right to recruit qualified personnel from wherever they can be found in the world.

Those who have chosen to get emotional through NNPC Ltd’s new hire should ask themselves this pertinent question: At what point does LNG Nigeria start having a Nigerian as its Managing Director? But, why are telecommunications companies in Nigeria headed by expatriates? Instead of crying wolf where there is none, the naysayers would do well by helping NNPC Ltd to run as efficiently and profitably as its global peers, by doing the simplest task: shut up if you can’t applaud.

James Olatunji Samuel, a public affairs commentator, writes from Lagos.