Factors Influencing Oil and Gas Project Delivery in Nigeria: Cost Management Perspective

Abstract

Overtime, cost management of construction projects in the Nigeria oil and gas sector has been branded inadequate with critical stakeholders standing aloof from offering requisite expertise to achieve efficiency. Based on pertinent lack of critical literature narrative about the practice of cost management in the oil and gas sector generally and in Nigeria specifically, this study evaluated the issues inhibiting cost management of oil refinery. Using a purposive sample size of 36 construction professionals in the oil and gas sector obtained through snowballing in Rivers state, Nigeria, structured questionnaire was employed to collect data that were analysed using mean item score and Chi-Square. The result revealed that issues dealing with low education, skills, estimating efficiency, non-involvement of core cost management professionals and change in scope as critical issues for affecting the efficiency of cost management in oil refinery construction projects. All the 25 factors evaluated were significant mean item scores (3.01 - 3.94) and the null hypothesis was rejected (p-values < 0.000) to show the consistency of the mean ranking. The study buttresses that inadequate cost management practice in the Nigerian oil and gas sector is due to this range of factors. Recommendations towards improving the state of cost management practice in the sector are directed towards the need to improve the validated barriers as precursors of inefficiencies in the sector.