If you are asked this question, what will be your honest reply?
Would you choose to work in an Oil Company or in another profession?
Honestly, as a Nigerian, you will certainly scream “YES”, surprisingly, this is my answer today. This is because Nigeria as a country totally depends on Oil, and the most successful and richest people in Nigeria, all have Oil wells.
If you are to asked Fresh graduates this question, 9 out of 10 new Nigerian graduates will prefer to work in the Oil and Gas sector if given the opportunity.
Survey and research carried out, shows high ranking O&G professionals in the cadre of senior staffs, managers and directors are earning as much as Seventeen MillionNaira (N17,000,000) to Forty seven Million Naira (N47,000,000) or even more per annum. You should however, take note that the salary totally depends on the type of job and company in which they are located.
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It shouldn’t be rocket science to realize that all Oil Companies in Nigeria are not born equal, and as such their salary scales are never the same.
For Example
An Oil Company may be paying up to Eight Million Naira (N8,000,000) in annual salaries to its entry level staff, for example in an engineering department. Another staff at the same level, working the same job, but this time around in another Oil Company, may be getting a pay package that’s way below Three million Naira (N3,000,000) per annum. Truth be old, Earning three Million Naira per annum is considered by Many Nigerians, to be a kill compared to what’s obtainable in other sectors.
To put an end to this notion, we decided to dig deep, and find out, the original salary Oil Companies actually pay their workers in Port Harcourt. We researched eleven companies with focus on basic entry level salary scale.
Here is what we surprisingly find out.
Upstream – Integrated Oil Companies (IOCs) in Exploration and Production (E&P)
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Total E&P Nigeria
It’s arguable to see a Nigerian who has not come across a Total Gas/Petro filling Station. This oil company is arguably the highest paying company in Nigeria today, with about 1700 employees.
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ExxonMobi
Another Major player is the ExxonMobil. ExxonMobil, through her two upstream subsidiary companies, is the second largest oil producer in Nigeria, with a cumulative total of up to 4 million deep-water/shallow-water offshore acreage. You don’t have any reason to argue this company wealth.
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Chevron Nigeria
Chevron is another top notch Oil company in Nigeria, and thanks to her scholarship program, it’s a household name in Nigeria. Chevron is the third-largest oil producer in Nigeria. Chevron has a whooping daily production capacity of over 230,000 barrels of crude oil.
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Shell Nigeria
Independent Upstream E&P / Multinational Oil Servicing Companies
- Aiteo Eastern E&P
Aiteo is an upwardly mobile Nigerian independent E&P company, with ambitious interest in some of the world’s most significant basins.
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Schlumberger Nigeria
Entry Level: N3,600,000 – N6,000,000 / year
Schlumberger is another independent upstream oil company in Nigeria. Schlumberger is a multinational E&P oilfield service provider, which specializes in technology, information and management solutions in both the midstream and upstream sub-sectors.
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Halliburton Nigeria
Entry Level: N3, 600,000 – 4,500,000 / year
Halliburton is a multinational upstream E&P service provider, which specializes majorly in operational and reservoir solutions.
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Saipem Nigeria
Entry Level: N2, 400,000 – N4, 800,000 / year
Saipem Nigeria is subsidiary company of the Italian oil giant company.
- Seplat Petroleum
Entry Level: N2, 400,000 – N4, 800,000 / year
Seplat is a front line Nigerian independent upstream E&P company, which is listed in both Nigeria and London stock exchange.
Indigenous IOC/ Downstream Companies
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Oando Group
Entry Level: N1, 800,000 – N4, 800,000 per year.
Oando is the very first Nigeria IOC with annual revenue of $1.9 billion in as far back as 2010.
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Conoil
Entry Level: N1,800,000 – N3,600,000 / year
The name, Conoil is very popular in Nigeria, thanks to it’s numerous trucks transporting petroleum products. Conoil an indigenous IOC which have about 6 blocks in the Niger Delta and 25% Equity stake in the Block 4 of Joint Development Zone (JDZ).
What You Should Know
Major area of study – Oil Companies usually tends to pay higher salaries to employees with rare oil-industry-specific-skills and training. This means that stuffs like Petroleum Economics, Petroleum Engineering, and Geosciences are among the hottest Majors you need, if you want to earn higher, working in an Oil company in Nigeria.
School, Grade and Certifications – The school you attend, the grades you obtained and your certificate, plays a major role in the salary of an Oil worker. There are exceptions to this one though depending on your area of focus.
We discovered that although some companies may give preference to candidates with foreign M.sc degrees, other companies like Shell are said to give more credence to high-performance-skills than academic credentials,when considering let’s say field workers for example.)
Relevant Experience as a Worker – This is no difference than in other sectors, because experience workers tends to know the rough side of the job and how to handle emergencies. Having relevant experiences is one of the reasonss why many Petroleum Industry professionals usually advice newcomers, to do all it takes to build up their experience profile – yes, even if it means working a while (for little or nothing) with a licensed Oil and Gas sub contractor. This goes a long way in helping to boost your profile and is preferable for employment.