Harnessing Information Communication Technology in the Development of Oil and Gas Business in Nigeria

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of Information Communication Technology in effectively managing the logistics and supply chain business of a 4th party logistics oil and gas service firm with a focus on TECON Oil Services Limited. This is predicated on the fact that Logistics is the process of ‘strategically managing the acquisition, movement and storage of materials, parts and unfinished inventory (and the related information flows) through the organization and its marketing channels in such a way that current and future profitability is maximised through the cost effect fulfilment of orders’. A structured questionnaire was duly administered to selected management staff of the company with 60.7% retrieval rate. The collated responses were analysed and the hypotheses were tested using the Eview software. At 5% level of significance, test of all five hypotheses showed p-values less than 0.005 (P < 0.05), indicating positive relationship between the tested ICT parameters and effective business performance. With overall significant regression, the coefficient of determination ranged between 87.9% and 99.7% of variation in the model. In conclusion therefore, the study ascertains a positive relationship between effective ICT and the Logistics and Supply Chain management of the firm’s business operations. It further recommended, among others, the need for the development of policies in the area of ICT to support the performance of various logistics networks for effective overall performance of the sector. Additional or further studies are required on the impact of effective supply chain management in the Oil and Gas Sector of the Nigeria Economy.