Arco

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ARCO commences restructuring process
By Soji Arale
Published: Tuesday, 5 Aug 2008

ARCO Petrochemical Engineering Company Limited has commenced its restructuring and repositioning programme based on the recommendations of Accenture, a management consultancy firm.

According to the Group Media Adviser to ARCO, Mr. Atilade Atoyebi, the main thrust of the programme is the transformation of the company from a limited liability to a public quoted one, through a graduated time-table of action that will be implemented in the weeks ahead.

The whole project of repositioning ARCO, Atoyebi said, was based on the implementation of a series of recommendations of the 2001 study by Accenture.

The comprehensive appraisal, he added, covered structures and operations with three main objectives that would prepare the company for public participation in its ownership and decision-making.

The first objective is the need for management to obtain credible information about the organisation’s current state, especially its operational efficiency, customer and staff perception as well as its profitability as a venture.

The second objective is the readiness of the founders of the company to grow the organisation as a sustainable venture.

The third is based on the eagerness of the founder of ARCO to realise the dream of making the company a publicly quoted venture that will outlive the founder himself and the current shareholders.

At the end of the six-week study, a retreat was organised for members of the management team as part of the process.

Accenture followed this up with interviews of both customers and employees with a report that assured all concerned that ARCO was well positioned to open its doors to the public to broaden its ownership base and structure.

However, Accenture advised that the owners of ARCO must be prepared to accept the laid down conditions for business operations in the capital market.

ARCO, Atilade stressed, accepted the reports of Accenture and embarked on the process of implementation.

While efforts were underway to move the company to the public, the situation in the Niger Delta where it carries out most of its business operations, became too difficult to implement

Incidentally, the lessons learnt from that retreat assisted ARCO to reposition its business into new outlets that led to the founding of one of its current subsidiaries, ARCO Marine and Oil Services Limited.

It also incorporated two other companies, ARCO Pipeline Solutions and ASCOT/ARCO Power Limited.

The management of ARCO expressed the belief that the time was ripe to roll out a time-table of further investment opportunities in the company and its subsidiaries.

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Got this form from Proshare, unfortunately, the prospectus is not available on the site

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Arco seeks N3bn to raise capital base
Written by Michael Eboh
Thursday, 06 November 2008

Arco Petrochemical Engineering Company Limited says it is evolving new strategy help it take advantage of Federal Government’s local content policy in the nation’s oil, gas and energy sectors of the economy.
Speaking at the unveiling of its new corporate vision in Lagos on Tuesday, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Alfred Okoigun, said the firm's decision to shore up its capital base was borne out of the desire to harness the enormous opportunities presented by the local content policy.

The company is seeking to shore up its capital base by N3 billion, through the conduct of a private placement of 1.25 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N2.50 per share.

The placement exercise which commenced on October 6, is to close on November 12, 2008.
According to Okoigun, “With the advent of the local content policy of the Federal Government, new opportunities are emerging for indigenous companies operating in the oil & gas sector.

It has opened a new opportunity for focussed entrepreneurs in the oil and gas sector. Capital base is increasingly becoming a critical factor in fully leveraging on the new policy direction of the government.

''In order to fully take advantage of the new opportunities, minimise interest expenses on borrowed fund and increase Arco’s ability to fund big ticket contracts, it was agreed that the board should convey an extra-ordinary general meeting to approve an increase in the paid-up capital of the company.”

He said it plans to list by introduction, its entire share capital on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), by the first quarter of 2009, adding that it has already laid the necessary strategies to ensure the attainment of the goal at the stated time.

He added that it intends to use proceeds from the capital raising exercise to strengthen its operations, fund its subsidiaries, diversify into new areas of operations and take advantage of new opportunities in its sector.

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Arco wins $41m Total E & P contract
By Agency Reporter
Published: Wednesday, 19 Nov 2008
The drive for increased local content input in the oil and gas sector has been given a boost with the award of a $41m contract to Arco Marine and Oil Services Limited.

Arco Marine, a subsidiary of one of the foremost oil/gas companies in the oil services sector, Arco Petrochemical Engineering Company Limited, signed the contract for the provision of marine logistics for the offshore operations of oil and gas major, Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited.

ARCO’s Executive Director, Sales & Marketing, Mr. Tokunbo Carew, in a company statement on Tuesday commended the Federal Government’s local content policy, which had made it possible for ARCO to realise its dreams in the execution of key services to internationla oil companies in the category of Total E&P.

The contract, which previously was executed by a foreign oil services company, has been described as a major milestone in the quest for indigenous participation in the oil and gas sector through the Federal Government’s drive for a minimum of 40 per cent local input .

This is within its set target with its cost minimisation implication and the value added benefit of providing employment and technological know how to Nigerians.

Carew said the contract was the beginning of the positive climate that lay ahead of the company, noting that by Arco’s tradition, only an excellent delivery of world class standard would be the yardstick for the execution of the job.

He said, “Over the years, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation had insisted IOCs must accommodate at least 40 per cent local content; a challenge currently being given legislative backing with the sponsorship of a bill on local content development, which is in the last phase of its passage into law.”

According to him, Agip/General Electric has also engaged a subsidiary of the ARCO Group in a long term contract valued at $30m for the maintenance of its gas turbines