Speaking to journalists in Lagos on Tuesday, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Forte Oil Plc, Mr Olu Adeosun, stated that acquisition of the major stake in Forte Oil Plc is going to be one of the best things to have happened in this country.
“This is because of the symbiotic strength we are bringing to the sector. It is a very complementary process. The core investors have a wide experience and strength in the upstream with massive exposure to the international trading market; they have a deep trading line with their bankers. They are bulk traders and they are bringing in products.
“Forte Oil has the third largest retail outlets in Nigeria. We are not buying from intermediaries again but we are buying directly from the bulk traders where other intermediaries are buying from. We will enjoy the benefits of economies of scale; we will enjoy the benefits of credit and also enjoy the benefits of the diversity of assets that Prudent Energy is bringing to the party,” he said.
He argued that with Forte Oil’s terminals in Apapa, Prudent Energy’s terminal in Ogbarra, South-South Nigeria, the company now has an avenue to move and evacuate products faster to the North and to the South East.
“With the divestment by previous management, we have access to retained earnings which we have converted to working capital and it will help us to be able to do some of the things that were not possible in the past.
“We are going to focus on human capacity development and deploy staff to areas of core competence. Workers will have access to diverse opportunity within the two companies.
For instance, if you are interested in shipping and you are currently in downstream, there is an opportunity for you to move across.
“We will focus on our customers by ensuring that every interaction they have with us result in a positive experience and we will ensure that we create values for the shareholders by reducing operating costs and increasing profitability,” he said.
On the challenge of downstream regulation, he stated that “We know that premium motor spirit (PMS) otherwise called petrol is regulated, but there are other products that are deregulated. We are a very strong presence in the distribution of aviation fuel, automated gas oil (AGO) otherwise called diesel, LPG is a growth area for us, the lubricant is also a big space for us to operate, base oils in general.
“Our desire for our shareholders is the same as for our customers. We don’t want anyone to go. We want our shareholders to hold on to their shares because we believe, as a long term company, there is better value in the long term and we will return dividends to them.”
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