ESSENTIALS IN OIL AND GAS PROJECT MANAGEMENT: LESSONS FOR QUANTITY SURVEYORS.

A PAPER PRESENTED BY JOSEPH KIKIOWO PgDip Constn Law & Arb (Aberdeen), PMP, ANIVS, MNIQS, MCIArb At Symposium / General Meeting of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors International Conference Centre, FCT Abuja 25th November, 2011

Introduction
Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen. Wide varieties of projects ranging from the very simple to the highly complex in terms of technology and huge financial outlay are executed in the oil and gas industry. Most of the complex ones can be regarded as international projects which have been described by Stebblings (n.d.) cited by Udom (2010) as projects where the contractor, lead consultant or the employer are not of the same domicile and at least one of them is working outside their country of origin.

The enactment and implementation of the Nigerian oil and gas industry content development Act, 2010 (the Act) will open up a vista of opportunities for more participation of Nigerian Quantity Surveyors in the management of oil and gas projects, including complex ones. It gladdens my heart that The Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors is organizing a symposium on this theme at this time, thereby treating the Act with the attention it deserves, as the Nigerian oil and gas industry is a potential Cash Cow for Nigerian construction professionals.

Jonathan (2010) while serving as the Acting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria revealed that the industry provides over 80% of the nations foreign currency receipts, though contributing a dismal 40% of national GDP. This is attributable partly to the absence of 1

indigenous participation. Darma (2010) the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) also lamented that over 90% of the goods and services worth 18 billion USD required annually in the industry were being imported. Hence, it is important to position Quantity Surveyors to take advantage of the Act which seeks to promote local participation in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. The experiences that shall be shared will also be useful to us in performing our roles on other (non oil and gas) projects that we might be involved in.

It is necessary to mention at this point that oil and gas projects do not have a particular/unified project management system. Every organization within the industry has its own project management system (processes and procedures), in fact, variations often exist within single organizations. A few clients in the industry however belong to the Process Industry Practices (PIP) which is a consortium of process industries owners and engineering construction contractors. They (PIP) harmonize member companies internal engineering standards into a set of industry wide practices for voluntary use (Process Industry Practices, 2011). One commonality however, in the oil and gas industry projects is the application of Global Best Practices in their management.

Project Management Explained Project Management Institute (2008) has defined project as a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. It also defined Project Management as the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. Project constraints include but not limited to Scope, Quality, Schedule, Budget, Resources and Risk. (Project Management 1nstitute, 2008)

Nature of Oil and Gas Projects The uniqueness of some of the projects is so pronounced that a particular type of project may be created once in a life time in a particular country; i.e. building of a refinery or LNG plant may take place in a country and may never be repeated again, or not until after several decades, at which time new technologies might have been developed. The projects, irrespective of complexities still have defined start and end dates just as any other projects. Also, the projects are required to be of world class standards and in some cases with high level of precision.

The stakes in such complex projects can be very high as they can be of high net worth and consequences of failure can be enormous. (Udom, 2010); some of the projects can involve massive capital outlays (in billions of dollars) of investors funds, often including mixture of loans, bonds and equity. For instance, the Nigeria LNG 6-train facility on Bonny Island which is worth 12 billion dollars is considered to be the single largest investment on any one single project in Africa (Olinma, 2010). Commitments/Sales agreements are often made with the customers for the products to be realized from some of the projects, even before actual commencement of project execution.

Also, the risk level in oil and gas projects can be high. Royal Dutch Shell recently took the Final Investment Decision (FID) to build the worlds first floating LNG facility. This structure weighing around 260,000 tonnes, designed to withstand the severest cyclones, with a life span of about 25 years and roughly six times the size of the largest aircraft when completed will be the largest floating structure ever built (Popular Science, 2011). It should be noted also that the industry operators are learning organizations and can be sophisticated in their approach to issues. For instance, it took 15 years and 1.6 million man hours of research to work on the engineering designs of this floating facility. 3

An Artist impression of the Facility (Popular Science, 2011)

Having considered the nature and some features of oil and gas projects, we can now appreciate why the management of such projects may require more efforts than the conventional everyday projects; just as different patients will require different levels of medical attention, depending on criticality of the patients conditions.

In discussing this topic, more emphasis shall be laid on the cost management aspect of oil and gas projects as this has been my major area of involvement for over a decade and it is the area that will be more beneficial to us as Quantity Surveyors. 4

Importance of devoting right time for pre contract activities The quantum of man hours of research for the floating facility is an indication of the importance that is attached to Front End Engineering Design (FEED) in the Industry. The benefit of such can be appreciated from the figure below:

High

Stakeholder influence, risk, and uncertainty

Degree

Cost of Changes Low

Project Time

Impact of Variable Based on Project Time (Project Management 1nstitute, 2008) The biggest opportunity to make changes to the project is at the front-end, it is extremely expensive to make changes later on; the more quality time that is spent on Front-End Engineering Development, the better the quality of the engineering package and consequently, the lower the project risk and changes. This practice eliminates unnecessary use of provisional sums in project cost estimates; it also reduces the incidence of variations/changes. Bramble and Callahan (2000) cited in Ennis (2011) have posited that too many change orders present subtle and profit eroding problems to contractors and that multiple changes may cause at least three problems for contractors: increase in contractors record keeping requirements, disrupt the work and reduce productivity; overall, multiple change orders are difficult or impossible to cost.

Requirements for engagement on Oil and Gas Projects Of great importance to us as professionals who will like get more involved in management of oil and gas projects is the principle and process for acquiring resources for project management in the industry. The industry recognizes the importance of engaging only competent hands in its project activities. The process usually starts with an evaluation of prospective parties wishing to be engaged in this regards. The evaluation criteria may include: Management Information and Expertise; Services offered, CVs, Qualifications and Experience; Registration with Department of Petroleum Resources; HSE Policy and Documentation; Sound Quality Management System with the attendant Documentation; Insurances including Employers Liability, Professional Indemnity, Public (3rd party) Liability, Motor Insurance etc.; Financials Details including Income Tax Certificate, Audited Accounts, Financing Plans, Certificate of Incorporation; Organization structure; Previous Experience; Staff Welfare; Nigerian Content; Industrial Relations.

Sections 55 and 56 of the Act provide opportunities to contractors (including professionals) wishing to provide service to the industry operators to register under the Joint Qualification System which will constitute data base for national skills development. Currently, registration can be done with Nigerian Petroleum Exchange (nipeX) through web address: <www.nipexng.com> or <www.nipex.com.ng>

Project Management Processes and Procedures A structured project management process including application of Quality Management Procedures is used by oil and gas companies in managing projects. It is important for us to have knowledge of project management and implement a Quality Management System in line with ISO 9001: 2008 standards so that we can be well positioned to fulfill our roles on oil and gas projects. It will not be out of place to consider taking project management training; it may be beneficial for our younger colleagues to pursue formal certification in project management. Apart from positioning us to perform our quantity surveying roles effectively in a project management setting, it will also equip us as skilled project management professionals.

Project Development and Implementation Philosophy Industry practice is usually to develop and implement project in phases that require some project governance and decision gates. This involves: Scouting to define purpose and objectives of the project Design to define the project requirements and scope Estimating the established project cost Economics to establish project feasibility and allow informed investment decision to be made

Cost Estimates Classifications Estimates are classified to indicate the overall quality and maturity for the various types of estimates. It should be emphasized that the classification below is not a universal approach as each organization has its classification system. (Dysert, 2007).

Primary Characte ristic

ESTIMATE

Secondary Characteristic
END USAGE

CLASS

LEVEL OF PROJECT
DEFINITIO N

Typical Purpose of estimate

METHODOLOG Y

Class 5

Expressed as % of complete definition 0% to 2%

Typical estimating method

EXPECTED ACCURACY RANGE

PREPARATION EFFORT

Concept Screening

Class 4

1% to 15%

Study or Feasibility

Capacity Factored, Parametric Models, Judgment, or Analogy Equipment Factored or Parametric Models Semi-Detailed Unit Costs with Assembly Level Line Items Detailed Unit Cost with Forced Detailed Take-Off Detailed Unit Cost with Detailed TakeOff

L: -20% to 50% H: +30% to +100% L: -15% to 30% H: +20 to + 50% L: -10% to 20% H:+10% to +30% L: -5% to -15% H: +5% to +20% L: -3% to -10% H: +3% to +15%

2 to 4

Class 3

10% to 40%

Budget Authorization, or Control Control or Bid/ Tender

3 to 10

Class 2

30% to 70%

4 to 20

Class 1

50% to 100%

Check Estimate or Bid/Tender

5 to 100

AACE Recommended Practice for Cost Estimate Classification (Dysert, 2007).

Oil and gas projects are multidisciplinary in nature with the attendant challenge of verifying scope of work for the purpose of providing cost estimate. Hence a schedule indicating the minimum requirements for scope definition is often used to define the minimum information to be provided for the cost estimator to provide project cost estimate of different levels of accuracy. Dysert (2007) has provided a typical schedule as follows:

Typical schedule indicating the minimum information required for different levels of estimate. ESTIMATE CLASSIFICATION CLASS CLASS 4 CLASS 5 3
General Assumed General None None None None None None Assumed Preliminary Preliminary Approximate Preliminary Preliminary Preliminary Preliminary Preliminary Preliminary Assumed Defined Defined Specific Defined Defined Defined Defined Defined Defined Prelimina ry C P/C P/C P/C P/C P/C P/C P/C P/C P/C P/C S/P S S S S

General Project Data Project Scope Description Plant Production/facility Capacity Plant Location Soils and Hydrology Integrated Project Plan Project Master Schedule Escalation Strategy Work Breakdown Structure Project Code of Accounts Contracting Strategy Engineering Deliverables: Block Flow Diagrams Plot Plans Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs) Utility Flow Diagrams (UFDs) Piping & Instrument Diagrams (P|&IDs) Heat and Material Balances Process Equipment List Utility Equipment List Electrical One-Line Drawings Specifications & Datasheets General Equipment Arrangement Drawings Spare Parts Listings Mechanical Discipline Drawings Electrical Discipline Drawings Instrumentation/Control System Discipline Drawings Civil Structural/Site Discipline Drawings

CLASS 2
Defined Defined Specific Defined Defined Defined Defined Defined Defined Defined

CLASS 1
Defined Defined Specific Defined Defined Defined Defined Defined Defined Defined

S/P

P/C S S/P S/P S S S/P S/P S/P S S

C C C C C C C C C C C P P P P P

C C C C C C C C C C C C P/C P/C P/C P/C

Key: None (blank) Development of the deliverables has not yet begun Started (S) Work on the deliverable has begun. Development is typically limited to sketches, rough outlines, or similar levels of early completion. Preliminaries (P) Work on the deliverable is advanced. Complete (C)- The deliverable has been reviewed and approved as appropriate 9

Application of Regional Productivity Factors in Estimating As mentioned earlier, some of the project activities for which we may be required to provide cost estimates for will not be only routine building and engineering activities for which the labour productivity factors already exist in our cost estimating database, but will also include heavy engineering (process, mechanical - piping, electrical, instrumentation, insulation and scaffolding). A lot of information in terms of manpower requirements can be obtained through networking and also through published data from Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering International; Association of American Cost Engineers; and the Oil and Chemical Plant Constructors Association. The following books can also be useful: Estimators Piping Man-hour Manual, 5th Edition by John S. page, Butterworth Heinemann Woburn. 1999 Estimators Equipment Installation Man-hours Manual, 3rd Edition, John S. Page, Gulf Professional Publishing, Houston, Texas 1999 Estimators General Construction Man-hour Manual, 2nd edition Butterworth-Heinemann, Woburn 1999. Cost estimating Manual for Pipelines and Marine Structures John S. Page Gulf Publishing, Houston, Texas 1977 Estimators Electrical Man-hour manual 3rd edition John S. Page Gulf Professional Publishing, Houston Texas, 1999.

It should be noted however that productivity factor for manpower varies from one country to the other, from one part of the country to the other or even between different contracting organizations in the same locality. The caveat therefore, is that appropriate factor should be applied, to account for various locations and the attendant different situations/circumstances to achieve the required level of accuracy for a project at a particular location per time. We all know 10

that factors to consider in the application of productivity factors in different locations will include repetitiveness of occurrence of the activity in the area, general skill/competence level, training facilities, weather conditions i.e. temperate/tropical regions, etc.

Monitoring and Control Tools The use of earned value for monitoring, evaluating and reporting on projects is currently gaining worldwide appeal. The traditional method of measuring project progress has been found to be inadequate in reporting the true state of projects. Effective monitoring of project will reveal if projects are going off their planned baselines, while control will bring projects back on track. It is important for us as Quantity Surveyors to get ourselves familiarized with the use of such concepts like this and utilize them on our projects.

It should be mentioned that most clients in the industry expect the cost engineer to be an expert in schedule control also; most of us will agree that there is close link between schedule control and cost control. Working knowledge of Primavera will be useful in this regard.

Value Enhancement Value Analysis/Engineering which aims at ensuring that best value is received for the intended project objectives is also a common project management practice in the industry. The benefits from this practice can be awesome particularly if applied at the planning stage of projects, as changes in the design can be achieved without extensive redesign at this point (Younker, 2007) as emphasized earlier in this paper We are therefore encouraged to promote the practice on our projects.

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Project Reporting Communication /Information management is considered an important aspect of project management; it is one effective tool for stakeholders management. Project reports are issued regularly with varying levels of information made available to various categories of stakeholders. The recipients of such reports range from Project Engineers/Managers to the top executives and company shareholders. The reporting items may include: Budget Status; Total Commitment to Date; Site Current Estimate (Total Value of Commitment to Date plus Value of Anticipated Commitments); Value of Work Done to Date; Value of Work Done during Reporting Period; Amount Paid to Date; Areas of Concern; Work to be performed within the next reporting period. The information that is conveyed through the report will be used in taking informed decisions on the project.

Lessons Learnt An interesting project management practice that is common in the oil and gas industry and which is worthy of emulation by us is the identification and records of lessons learnt in the course of managing projects. As humans, we should recognize that we are fallible and we should be prepared to learn from our errors and also give others the opportunity to learn from our errors, while also learning from the mistakes of others. It involves documenting during and after the project what went wrong and what did we do that we now think we should have done differently? A library of such information in our individual practices/offices and further collated at the institute level can be a source of enormous knowledge for us and indeed to our future colleagues.

Effect of Nationality/Country of Domicile on Project Personnel Resource Cost There is also the standard practice to classify the country of domicile of personnel that are engaged on project for the purpose of estimating the costs of the personnel. The practice 12

recognizes the economic reality of the fact that human resources from different parts of the world that are to perform a particular role at a particular time and in a particular country will attract different income depending on their nationalities/country of domicile. Basically there are different categories as follows in Nigeria: Expatriates are the personnel from USA, Western Europe, Canada, and Australia etc Third Country Nationals Philippines, India, Korea, Turkey, etc Nationals- Nigerian Citizens

In providing estimates for projects involving the above categories of personnel it will be useful to determine the level of income that is applicable to a particular position in each of the three categories. Other factors that might also affect project staff cost are: relative scarcity of job skill, job location, job security, employment on self / agency basis, etc.

Risk Management It has been emphasized earlier in this paper that the sheer complexity of some complex oil and gas projects makes them susceptible to some unusual risks such as: Profit reparation and currency exchange risk Political risk- wars and unrest Technology risks untested technologies Cultural Double taxation risk Corruption and money Laundering risk Regulatory risk (Udom, 2010).

Successful implementation of projects therefore demands that risk and uncertainties be identified, assessed and managed in a structured and professional manner. The Quantity Surveyor may be called upon in developing project risk register, participate in preparing risk mitigation plans and 13

implementation. Risk management is a recognized competency in project management. Though most of the projects on which we are engaged may not carry the unusual risks associated with the highly complex projects, we need to possess working project risk management skills and we should endeavor to encourage project promoters to recognize this and be willing to accept risk management as part of project management.

Conditions of contract The complex and multidimensional nature of some oil and gas projects which could involve different parties in a variety of relationships (Udom, 2010) combined with the associated risks and coupled with the uniqueness of the projects often requires that Clients in the industry develop their own conditions of contract for managing projects. Therefore the Quantity Surveyor participating in projects in the industry should not always expect to work with the usual conditions of contract that they are already used to.

Scales of Fees versus Cost, Time Resources (CTR) Professionals in the Construction industry are used to their conditions of engagement /remunerations for services provided to being based on the Scale of Fees. But this may not always be the case when we are engaged to provide our professional services on projects in the oil and gas industry. This is because the industry has its own tradition of remunerating professionals on the basis of hours spent in providing service and this is usually expressed in CTR. This is consistent with the Act referring to quantum of engineering services in terms of man hours. It is a system whereby the consultant/service provider is required to express the remuneration due to him (all inclusive) in terms of the number of man hours expended in providing the service and unit rate for each category of manpower. We are encouraged to familiarize ourselves with this method. 14

Training, Welfare and Human Resources Management The Industry has a tradition of attracting, training and retaining brilliant workforce, project staff inclusive. Principals of Quantity Surveying firms should pay more attention to training, motivating and retaining good staff. Dimitrief (2011) cited in Lazur (2011) posited that the quality of the juniors in a firm can be associated with the quality of the firm and that it says a lot about the depth of talent in the firm. Teresa (n.d) cited in Covey (2005) once said that if we want the Lamp to keep burning, we have to keep putting oil in it. A well trained and competent workforce will produce high quality work and enhance the corporate image of the firm. The best marketing is the quality of work that is produced. A competent and well motivated workforce will also remove unnecessary pressure from the Principal person because he will be able to delegate to the competent staff around him. Firms should embrace the concept of Employer Branding which aims at motivating and securing employees alignment with the vision and values of the firm (Price, 2007). Individual employees should take responsibility for their training needs and in the words of Covey (2004) we should put first things first by investing in our personal development. A lot of opportunities exist for Quantity Surveyors who are willing and prepared to avail themselves of what the Act can offer.

Team building This refers to activities that are designed to improve team performance with the aim of improving communication, making work place more enjoyable, and team motivation, know each other better and improving team productivity among others (Wikipedia 2011). It builds unity amongst project staff and therefore enhances project success. This can be done within a quantity surveying practice or it may involve all the parties involved on a project, including even the client. It can take any form including team-based presentations, followed by a meal or time to talk and build relationship at all levels (Lazur, 2011). 15

It can vary from a five minutes agenda to an off-site, professionally facilitated experience (PMI, 2008).

Community Relations Contractors undertaking execution of oil and gas projects in the oil producing areas of the country normally engage and manage the community as a major stakeholder to ensure the success of projects. This may involve paying of homage, provision of suitable facilities agreed with the community and employment of locals.

Health Safety Security and Environment (HSSE) This is an important consideration in oil and gas projects and there are regulations that guide HSE requirements on project activities. The requirements can be significantly higher than the national average for other projects, as there does not seem to be any regulations on Occupational Health Safety in the country. The Factory Act of 1990 is not applicable to construction industry. Citing the Factory Act of 1990, Idoro (2011) stated that factory is defined in Article 87 of the Factory Act to exclude construction sites. Some HSE requirements for Projects in the industry include but not limited to: Pre mobilization inspection for contractors plant and machineries; Use of appropriate Personal Protective Equipment by all persons on site; Induction course for site personnel before being mobilized to site; Presence of Safety officer on construction site; Conduct of periodic Safety Walk- about on site by clients staff; Tool box talk on daily basis; Waste segregation and disposal requirements;

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Quantity Surveyors that are involved on oil and gas project management must understand the requirements and be able to estimate the cost implications of such requirements as part of the project cost. The violent activities of some armed groups in the oil producing areas of the country with its ugly consequences for stakeholders in the industry, which got its peak between 2005 and 2009 has made the issue of security to be of greater importance in oil and gas projects.

Employment Opportunities Enhancement for Quantity Surveyors According to the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Allison Madueke (2010), implementation of the Act could generate over 300,000 jobs within the next five years. The Quantity Surveyor by virtue of his training and experience is known for providing cost management functions on projects in addition to other functions in procurement, contract administration/documentation, planning, construction management, etc. Job specialization is common in the industry and professionals from various fields such as engineering, law, accounting among others are engaged and properly trained to perform some of these functions. For the Quantity Surveyor to be at an advantage in being engaged on any of the positions, he is advised to take recognized professional/academic qualifications in any area of interest: Project Management, Procurement, Cost Engineering, Contract/Construction Law and Planning. In addition I personally believe that qualified quantity surveyors who have a passion for Human resources (HR) management and who are willing to acquire relevant HR skills will also have a place in the HR departments of oil companies as they could play prominent roles in recruitment, training management and job planning of engineering/technology staff.

Project cost estimates Cost is an important consideration in oil and gas projects hence efforts should be made to ensure reasonable level of accuracy. It was succinctly expressed in an article in the Oil and Gas Journal 17

that Cost estimating for the most part is a specialized field whose end product (the estimate) is sometimes controversial and subject to debate and question It is good practice for cost estimates having been prepared to be checked by a second party and then finally approved by a third party. It is also good to state all the information and assumptions on which the estimate is based. Cost estimates are subject to challenge, adherence to these simple pieces of advice will enhance he integrity of estimates.

Bidding and reporting requirements under the Act There appears to be vast areas where the Quantity Surveyors are readily required in evaluating Nigerian content for the purpose of reporting and ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Act at various phases of projects. This provides opportunities for the Quantity Surveyor both within the clients and contractors organizations and even within the Nigerian content development monitoring Board. The Quantity Surveyor that is involved either with preparation or evaluation of bids should pay particular attention to S.14 of the Act that lays emphasis on Nigerian content in contract award.

Generally Applicable Business Principles Seek to be fully enlightened on the Project related activities in the oil and gas industry and proactively seek to identify new areas in which their services could be useful and then make quality presentation to target organizations in this regard, as Marketing is about identifying and meeting human and social needs. (Keller and Kotler, 2009) Enhance companys corporate image by producing quality deliverables. Documents should be well formatted while correspondences should be free from grammatical / typographical errors.

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Maintain the confidentiality of sensitive documents /information that may be entrusted in their care in the course of providing service. Employees should be properly informed of the relevance of this.

Possess the right level of communication technology. There should be functional E-mail and telephone facilities to facilitate prompt communication process.

Seek information on client satisfaction during the currency of a project and at its conclusion so as to improve performance. (Dimitrief, 2011) cited in Lazur.

Make consultation with experienced/senior colleagues when confronted with unusual challenges. An aspect of the oath of the medical practice that says one should not be ashamed to say I know not, nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when their skills are needed. is applicable. (Ohaegbulam, 2011)

A businesslike approach should always be adopted when engaged on oil and gas projects. Right tools should be identified and utilized by quantity surveying firms in the course of performing their duties. They offer the advantages of speed, accuracy, efficiency and audit trail.

Conclusion The Act is perhaps the most important single legislation in the history of the Nigerian oil and gas industry. Events unfolding since the Act came into being have indicated that the provisions of the Act are not just mere statements of policy or intention. A monitoring Board was promptly put in place after the enactment of the Act and the Board has since commenced active operation.

The successful implementation of the Act however requires concerted efforts from various stakeholders/parties. Government has to ensure that the Act is implemented effectively. Professional bodies should ensure that their qualified members possess the right measure of 19

skills that merit their certification. This is very important in view of the fears that have been expressed in some quarters concerning the quality of graduates being produced by Nigerian Universities. Onuah (2010) while reporting on the Act stated that: Finding the local resources and employees to meet these new requirements is likely to prove difficult. Educational standards have fallen sharply in Africas most populous country since the mid-1980s. Its once proud universities are a shadow of their former selves and those who can afford it prefer to study in Europe or United States.

There seems to be the need to worry when this is reconciled with the disclosure that was made recently by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Group Managing Director, Oniwon (2011) that 80% of First Class and Second Class Upper applicants failed and scored less than 20% in the Corporations recruitment Examination. He expressed apprehension about lack of functionality of the countrys educational format; he also referred to the mass failure of candidates in West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and National Educational Council (NECO) Examinations.

Another school of thought however believes that the low local content in the industry resulted from adequate measures that were taken in the past to address the situation and that failure to take decisive action was a result of the ineptitude of past military governments in Nigeria (Calag capital Limited, 2005)

The versatility of our training has made it imperative that we are very relevant in the oil and gas industry; we must be prepared to brace up and take up the challenges that shall be coming our way under the present dispensation. One cannot agree less with the assertion by Onwuka (2010) that Nigerian companies and business leaders must be ready to develop core competencies and 20

that this will not happen overnight but through perseverance, commitment and dedication to excellence which has never failed anybody.

Finally, the Nigerian oil and gas industry has a lot to offer to Quantity Surveyors who are willing and prepared to offer their professional services in the areas of project administration services/project management and cost / planning consultancy; the schedule in the Act specifies Nigerian Content of 80% and 75% of man hours respectively for the two areas. We must always remember to strive and achieve the highest level of professionalism when offering our services as that is what the industry demands. I strongly believe that Nigeria is joining other countries of the world where similar piece of legislation have been successfully implemented.

Thank you. Joseph Kikiowo Email: Jodunayo@yhaoo.com GSM: 08035300717

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REFERENCES 1. Allison-Madueke, D., 2010 The oil and gas law and its monitoring board. Daily Independent All Africa.com (online) Available at: <http://allafrica.com/stories/201005050479.html> Accessed 21 Novmber 2011

2. Boyle, R., 2010. To harvest Natural Gas from the Ocean, Shell is building the Worlds Largest Man-Made Floating Object, Popular Science (online) Available at: <http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-05/harvest-natural-gas-ocean-shell-buildingworlds-largest-man-made-floating-object> (Accessed 6 November 2011)

3 .Bramble and Callahan (n.d.) cited in Ennis. C., 2011. Evaluating Disruption Costs on Major Construction Projects. Society of Construction Law, D125 sent by Email from Society of Construction Law Postman <Postman@SCL.org.uk > Tuesday, 19 July 2011 at 21:00 hours to Joseph Kikiowo <Jodunayo@yahoo.com>

4. Cost Estimating challenges face frontier projects (Anon., 2001) Oil and Gas Journal International Petroleum News and Technology. (online) Available at: <http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/volume-99/issue-33/exploration-development/costestimating-challenges-face-frontier-projects.html> (Accessed 14 November 2011)

5. Covey, S., 2004. The seven habits of highly effective people, New York, Free Press

6. Darma, M., 2010. Oil and Gas loses $16bn to Imports Proshare (online) Available at: <http://www.proshareng.com/news/12316> (Accessed 6 November 2011)

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7. Dysert, L., 2007. Estimating. In: Skills and Knowledge of Cost Engineering, 5th ed. Morgantown, West Virginia: AACE International.

8. Idoro, G., 2011. Comparing Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Management Efforts and Performance of Nigerian Construction Contractors. (online) Available at: <http://web.usm.my/jcdc/input/preview%20manuscript%20Vol%2016(2)/PREVIEW__2011.16. 2.7_jcdc-oa-05100023.pdf> (Accessed 14 November 2011)

9. Jonathan, G., (2010) Oil still Accounts for 40 Percent GDP, 80 Percent Foreign ExchangeFederal Government. All Africa Global Media. (online) Washington D.C. Available from <http://allafrica.com/stories/201005040001.html > (Accessed 6 November 2011)

10. Keller, K., and Kotler, P., 2008. Marketing Management. 13th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

11. Lazur, L., 2011 Lessons from the Bar from In-House Counsel, Washington DC: The Newsletter of the Technology and Construction Bar Association. London, Informal UK Limited and TECBAR.

12. Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010

13. Price, A., 2007 Human Resources Management in a Business Context 3rd ed. South Western Centage Learning.

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14. Ohaegbulam, S., 2011 Surgeon warns against over admission of medical students. The Punch, 9 November p.16

15. Oniwon, A., 2011 80% of First Class, Second Class Upper applicants failed NNPC Exam GMD, Nigerian Tribune, (online). Available at: <http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/26695-80-of-first-class-second-class-upper-applicantsfailed-nnpc-exam-gmd> (Accessed 6 November 2011)

16. Olinma, P., 2010. 5 Secrets of NLNG Success. NLNG The Magazine Vol.9 No1 2010, The In house magazine of Nigeria LNG Limited, (online) Available at: <http://nigerialng.com/publications/flagshiped12010finalweb.pdf> (Accessed on 21 November 2011)

17. Onuwah, F., Update 4-Nigerias Acting Leader signs Local Content Oil Bill, Reuters, (online). Available at: <http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/04/22/nigeria-oilidUSLDE63L1IJ2010042> (Accessed 6 November 2011)

18. Onwuka, O., 2010. Nigeria Oil and Gas Local Content Law: Beyond passing the Bill, Vanguard, (online) Available at: <http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/04/nigeria-oil-gas-local-content-law-beyond-passing-thebill> (Accessed 6 November 2011)

19. Process Industry Practices. 2011. Process Industries Practices (online) Available at: <http://pip.org> (Accessed 6 November 2011)

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20. Project Management Institute. 2008. A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) 4th ed. Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute Inc

21. Stebblins (n.d.) cited in Udom, K., 2010. Introduction to International Construction, BSM 135 International Construction Contract. Robert Gordon University, unpublished

22. Teresa, M., (n.d.) Covey, S., 2005. The seven habits of highly effective people, Signature Program 3rd version. Unpublished

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