Industry leaders welcome Patricia Simon-Hart as Director at Aradel Holdings PLC

Sopuruchi Onwuka

The prevailing reorganization at Aradel Holdings Plc has continued with the appointment of Patricia Simon-Hart as an Independent Non-Executive Director, tapping her expertise into the management of the exploration and production operations of the indigenous independent company.

And leading indigenous players in the upstream petroleum industry are convinced that Mrs Simon-Hart would deliver greater and broader governance and experience platform for Aradel to prepare for what is seen as wider responsibility in the industry.

With the appointment of Patricia Simon-Hart into the board of an indigenous exploration and production company in the country, our sources stated, she becomes a leading industry light whose experience in oilfield operations and maintenance services has become critical in boosting the capacity of indigenous crews expected to displace international oil multinationals in the local upstream petroleum industry.

Some industry leaders that expressed their excitement at the appointment told The Oracle Today that her experience and skill in oilfield services and capacity in delivering difficult tasks would boost the existing capacity at Aradel in positioning for greater roles in the industry.

Former Chairman of Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Mr Emeka Ene, said in a chat with The Oracle Today that Mrs Simon-Hart comes with the value of a local service specialist and petroleum engineer in an environment where changing demand for local services is driven by necessity.

Mr Emeka Ene, an eminent petroleum industry engineer, is the Chairman of Oildata Group, an indigenous oilfield and technology services firm specialized in well intervention, logging, rigless workovers and gas conversion technology.

He has been the Chaorman of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), President of the Nigerian Council of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and a member of the International Gas Union (IGU).

He pointed that the appointment of Mrs Simon-Hart initiates progress in the long sought-after embrace between indigenous exploration and production companies and compatriot service companies in building an indigenous crew for sustained operations in the domestic E&P industry.

He pointed out that the indigenous services providers currently form the driver for realization of full values from the Nigerian Content laws, noting that partnership between indigenous operating firms and service providers must be forged and solidified to build an integrated local capacity for the domestic upstream industry.

Mr Ene welcomed the appointment of Mrs Simon-Hart into the board of Aradel as potential value addition required to strengthen the governance experience of the fast growing indigenous exploration and production company.

In a separate chat with The Oracle Today, the Executive Chairman of AA Holdings, Mr Austin Avuru, explained the criticality of spreading and strengthening of corporate boards to bring in people with well established integrity and experience in running successful businesses in the industry.

Mr Avuru is a leading industry geologist who volunteered out from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) early in his career and successfully braved into private play where he has built the record of founding Platform Petroleum and Seplat Petroleum Development Company Limited: two leading indigenous exploration and production companies.

He said that Mr Simon-Hart would surely come with broader perspectives and industry experience to the board of Aradel, which Mr Avuru said, holds the ambition of rapid expansion through inorganic growth strategies.

Again, he said, broadening the corporate board and governance process would enhance the opportunities of Aradel Holdings to explore the full potentials and opportunities public listing on the bourses of the equity markets.

According to him, Aradel is positioning to become the biggest indigenous exploration and production company in the industry; a position, Mr Avuru said, would require broader operations experience that Mrs Simon-Hart would now bring onto a platform for the company’s corporate governance.

Executive Director of Hobark International Limited, Dr Emmanue Okoroafor, said that Nigeria has people who have been in the oil industry for many years and have been trained, skilled and exposed to global play.

“They have picked up a lot of experiences and expertise that will enable them run the show if given the opportunity,” he noted.

“People would rather have someone from a service company,” he said, adding the training they get from service companies and the world they have travelled make them deal with issues like businessmen. 

“To me,” he said, “I think Nigerians can take up management of the entire industry, be it IOC or independent operators. They can do it. That’s the way to prepare for the inevitable crew change.”

President of Women in Energy Network (WIEN), Mrs Funmi Ogbue, described the appointment of Mrs Patricia Simon-Hart as a remarkable achievement and a testament to outstanding qualifications, dedication, and expertise.

In describing the appointment as well-deserved, Mrs Ogbue declared: “We have no doubt that your wealth of knowledge and experience will undoubtedly provide invaluable insights, guidance, and oversight in the boardroom and the entire organization.

“All of us at WIEN are proud of you and we wish all the success and fulfillment in this new position. We have no doubt that your wealth of knowledge and experience will undoubtedly provide invaluable insights, guidance, and oversight in the boardroom and the entire organization.

Patricia Simon-Hart is the Founder and Managing Director of AFTRAC Limited, an indigenous oilfield services company that provides operations and technology needs by employing proven innovative solutions, unparalleled engineering services, and efficient procurement management to the highest industry standards.

Headquartered in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, from where it provides specialized technology, equipment and expertise for exploration and production related projects and services AFTRAC Limited holds ISO 9001:2015 certification and over 23 years of experience in delivering Production Monitoring and Well Testing Services to the Upstream Oil and Gas Sector in the West African sub-region.

The company’s facilities include a yard of over 3,200 square meters, a testing Bay, a large warehouse, and separate office space that includes a Training centre.

Aftrac also has a yard on Bonny Island, and a liaison office in Lagos to ensure seamless service delivery to our customers.

With over three decades of experience in Management, Public Policy and Administration; Mrs Simon-Hart is the Vice President in charge of Upstream, and a member of the WIEN Board of Trustees. She is also the current Secretary to the Executive Board of Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN).