Awo Omoluwabi — The Story of MOL Freshhh 2017 Runner-Up

Awo Omoluwabi is a name that we chose to mean The Coven of the Trustworthy. When my good friend Sola-Aremu ‘Pelumi first approached about the competition MOL Freshhh, I was as excited as he was. We had felt hard-done in the last competition we participated in together and were eager to test ourselves in any promising one. Little did we know how big a stage we were being offered. The team came to consist of Olanipekun Faisal, Sola-Aremu and myself, as the competition required teams of three and we will forever be glad that we decided to take this opportunity.

Being petroleum-engineering students, at the time all this was happening and of course, throughout the length of the competition, we were on the 6 months industrial training expected of 400 level students in their second semester. We were even in different states! The competition was a simulation of the different units of an integrated oil company: upstream, downstream (refinery) and retail. By the close of registration, about 1540 teams were in the run, some of whom were Ph.D. holders in their fields. It was clear from the start that we were up against formidable opponents some of whom had previous experiences of the competition to leverage.

Game Rules for each unit was released to guide our actions in the fifteen rounds of the online qualification stage. This was serious business.

In the Upstream section, we had to make scheduling decisions concerning the development of ten (10) fields of different characteristics. Parameters necessary to make decisions were given but the calculations thereof were left to us. Funds for field development was limited so the internal rate of return of each prospect was another factor to consider. It was decided that Faisal should take charge of this unit while Pelumi and I acted as Quality Control to veto his decisions.

In the Refinery section, decisions had to be made to gradually increase the complexity of the refinery as well as to optimise the refinery’s modules to produce more or less of a particular product as demands in the daily news informed. Products such as gasoline and diesel also had to be blended to strict specification by adjusting splitters that exist between refinery modules. Product specifications had to be correct up to one decimal place or they were off specification and had to sold for less as base products. I took charge of this unit while Pelumi and Faisal vetoed my decisions.

In Retail, the task was to manage a service station network efficiency in order to maximize the average return on assets (ROA). The service stations sold fuel and other products in the following categories: food, non-food, beverage, restaurant and grocery. The traditional marketing mix — price, promotion, place, product — had to be taken into consideration if network efficiency was to be improved. Yet other details such as staff number, logistic capacity and market information were relevant to decision making processes. These interrelated factors and the general market/economic trends were necessary for the strategic decisions of each round of play. It was expedient to make the best possible decision at every round because unlike the other two units that would go on for 15 rounds, retail had only 12. Pelumi took on this challenge.

More than just the competitive rush, this competition allowed us to pick up skills we are sure will come in handy throughout our careers. Modelling technical scenarios using excel is one of them. Memories of the many IF statements we wrote and re-wrote will remain with us. The first time we found ourselves in the top 10 overall ranking, it was like a vial of belief was shot into our veins. It became possible, within reach, achievable. There was no looking back. The competition was such that 40 teams would enter the semi-finals — ten best teams from each section, and then the ten overall best teams. We qualified as one of the top ten overall teams. This good start gave us the strength to redouble our efforts as pressure ramped up in the semis of the competition.

The semis consisted of an upstream case study question and a 20-minute quiz. Since the quiz had to be taken once, there was no way to prepare ourselves for it but to call upon knowledge we had gained in our petroleum courses in school. The case study however allowed us the luxury of time to rub minds together concerning our approach. The case study presented two potential oil-bearing formations, one above the other. Each prospect’s properties was given so that we could calculate such parameters as Oil in Place, which would inform our decision. The fictitious company of the case study makes investment decisions by comparing the forward-looking net present value of alternatives. What alternatives presented themselves here? Drill one shallow exploration well only, drill one deep exploration well only, drill one shallow exploration well then a deep exploration well in the following year, or test both prospects with one deep exploration well. We were thrown back into our Petroleum Economics lectures with Dr. Akinpelu, talking asset value and discount rates. We still bless him today for tasking us to scour the news for economic scenarios to use as case studies for the concepts that we were to learn in class. Even more interesting was the Ng-Egbogah Correlation that we encountered in our calculations one night. For us, Dr. Egbogah has always been an inspiration, a paradigm that revealed that possibilities abound to prove the Nigerian intellect in every corner of the world. There was sentimental joy we found in using an equation he jointly derived to further our cause.

One of those nights after we had completed our semi-final tests, I remember we were talking about the competition, about how far we had come and what still lay ahead of us, it begun to dawn on us that thewhole competition was no longer about just ourselves. It was about showing those coming after us that it could be done; that if they committed themselves to any one cause, nothing is too ‘international’ for any Nigerian student to compete for. The very next day we found out we had qualified for the finals. Our joy knew no bounds.

It was not just the fact that we were the first Nigerian, and indeed the first African team to qualify for the finals of the competition that elated us. It was the support from colleagues, seniors, friends and family alike. The final was to be held in Budapest, Hungary and so there were travel documents to arrange at the Hungarian Embassy, Asokoro, Abuja. We had been given a case study soon after we qualified for the finals: Entering the Shared Mobility Market in Central and Eastern Europe — Opportunities, Models and Pitfalls. What experience did we have of the Central and Eastern Europe? Of the Mobility Market? Or for that matter, of creating business models? It was a daunting task.

We spent the next weeks collecting data from sites like The Economist, Bloomberg etc. We chose case studies of Uber and Taxify’s operations in different regions of the world, investigating their choice of business models and the corresponding success or failure. We read about demographics, government regulations, and transportation as existent in the CEE region. We built our business model from scratch, correlating our assumptions and making corrections as necessary. We discussed at length over the minutiae of our business model over the phone and on skype conversations.

As the day of our departure drew near, it was necessary to congregate and collate our work as well as prepare our PowerPoint presentation using the very strict template we had been given. By the time we were done, we had a 41-page slide that we had to deliver in 15 minutes. It was overwhelming. I will not speak here about the many expenses of that period but on the 26th of January when we boarded an International Flight for the first time, we were beyond ourselves. I remember our stopover in Paris and our frustration that we did not have clearance to leave the airport and wander the city. I remember how our conversations turned wishful, then wistful, then political when we juxtaposed the infrastructure in place in France’s Charles de Gaulle Airport with what could be found in Nigeria’s so-called international airports. Gradually, our mission took on a patriotic tinge, a way to bring some deserved glory to the country of our birth, the giant of Africa.

No other time was our determination as firm as when the clouds parted to reveal snowy Budapest, the beautiful, beautiful capital of Hungary. We communicated in yoruba then amidst Slovaks, Ukranians and the many other nationalists that disembarked into the biting cold. It was -1 ° C when we landed. The chauffeur waiting by the black Mercedes Benz made sure to tell us as much. You never truly understand until you feel that temperature. Within minutes, our hands were numb. We expected to be provided with winter jackets. The company expected that we would have researched the weather conditions and brought appropriate clothing. This stalemate of expectations left us confined to our hotel rooms, unable to explore as much of the beautiful city as we wanted.

Our first cultural shock came when we had to make a mock presentation to our guide. We were ready, having rehearsed severally. We tried to bend our English as Nigerians are wont to do when talking to foreigners; to soften our consonants so that they fall easier on western ears. Despite this, he identified our H-factors within 15 minutes! It was a moment of cultural bonding, we spoke and laughed for a bit about the idiosyncracies of speech of our different countries. It helped to ease our tension. We did not bend our english after that, we decided instead to speak as audibly as possible.

Our second shock was the type of electrical plugs available in our hotel rooms. Nigeria uses the three-prong rectangular type G but our rooms were fitted with the two-prong circular type F plugs. The hotel could not help us. We used the Wi-Fi to check for the nearest electrical store where we could buy adapters. Since the Wi-Fi stopped working once we step out of the hotel lobby, we had to memorise the directions to the store. We did find out way there successfully but one more shock was in store for us.

At Muritala Mohammed Airport in Lagos, we had traded Naira for Euro currency which is tenable in any European country or so we thought. The storekeeper looked alarmed when we presented a crisp 50 Euros note. Surprised, we started to ramble about it being good money.

“No Euros”, he insisted, “only Forint, only Forint”

He described an exchange shop a few streets away where we could get Forint. Walking down the streets with gloveless hands jammed in jeans that suddenly seemed so thin, we talked about nothing but winning. After obtaining the adapters, we found a shop where we bought gloves.– we later realized that they were mittens. Each time we paid for something, we did a mental conversion to Naira. Each mitten had cost us roughly ₦5000 but the cold was unforgiving of inappropriate clothing and so we were glad to have them.

The final itself was a two-day event. The first day, we attended a Ted talk and we were introduced to the stage we would be presenting on. It was bigger than anywhere else we had experience of. We were also introduced to the strategy game we would be playing at the final event where the seven (7) teams were representatives of oil producing nations. The objective was to form coalitions to develop our different prospects using available resources and so, to maximise profit. The game was a test of competition and cooperation — what Dr. Akinpelu liked to call co-opetition. It was Game Theory brought to life for us.

First, we had to bid for assets. There were two deep offshore fields of different potential for grabs. Asides these, most nations had oil within their territory or adjoining another nation’s territory. Each country had the same starting capital so that investment decision was based solely on interest and not on financial muscle. Faisal quickly figured out that for each offshore field there was a maximum amount beyond which it was not advisable to bid. Our strategy was simple then: obtain one of these fields at a convenient price or else drive up prices so that our opponents were forced to buy it at unreasonable prices. It was a simple strategy but it was not without its risks. One team must have noticed our strategy after several rounds of bidding so they stalled until the last second before bidding. We were glad nonetheless to have reduced the profitability of that field. It would later dawn on us that we acted in the spirit of competition where cooperation may have paid better.

At night, we had a dinner at a quaint restaurant that overlooked the Danube River separating Buda from Pest. Industry professionals were present so it was a great opportunity to learn, to network as well as to experience people of a different culture from ours. It was a revealing experience, our conversations touched on different topics: economic, political, professional. All parties were eager to rub minds, to share opinions and so to broaden one another’s knowledge. When we left, and we were the first team to leave the restaurant, we were nearly overwhelmed. We walked the short distance to the hotel, taking pictures and talking about the future. There can be no doubt that this short experience was shaping us by the moment in ways no previous experience had.

The day of the final, we ate breakfast spraringly. The event held at Budapest Music Center, a grand place. There was an event application that allowed attendees to share moments of the grand finale. This was the medium by which we shared the meaning of our name. The audience loved it. The love we got was a massive confidence booster and climbing up that stage, it was a culmination of months of hard work and sleepless nights, of empty monster cans and endless google searches; it was all the brilliance we hoped for and more. The audience lauded our presentaton and so going into the strategy game, we were confident of a shot at the first prize.

It was a generous helping of fate that the nation we were tasked to represent was powerful by virtue of its position. Coupled with the fact that we held one of two prized offshore assets, we were a strong nation to ally with. The aim of the game was for nations to pool resources and create the most profitable value chain possible. This aim had especial impact on the strategy that the teams applied. We found that the teams had divided themselves roughly into two groups so that we stood in the center, the decisive nation. Finding ourselves thus, our strategy was to listen to offers from both parties discreetly and enter into the coalition that best served our interest as a nation.

The teams were brilliant, it was evident after the events of the finale. So, when the event compere climbed back on stage to announce the winning teams, we held our hearts in our mouth. There could be no mistaking it when we heard our group name. They struggled to pronounce it, understandably, but it was us nonetheless. It was bittersweet. It was joyful, it was painful. It was exhilirating. It is a moment we will hold in corners of our hearts for the rest of our lives, to be retrieved and relived when in search of motivation. The top two teams were announced, the photos were taken with dignitaries and so, begun the walk to the hotel. I think we felt a bit numb, like it was not true; like we would wake up any moment and realise that we had slept off in my parents’ house, tired and forgotten to send in our PowerPoint presentation before the deadline. The joy of family and friends knew no bounds. There was so much laughter in our hotel rooms over whatsapp video calls with family and friends who waited with bated breaths many thousand miles away, in support, believing in us.

The next day we checked out of the hotel and moved into one farther into the city. We stayed four extra days in Budapest, a much-needed break from the months of working day and night, for the companies we interned with and for the competition we believed we could win.

Could we claim to be short of thanks upon our return to Nigeria? So many people contributed to our eventual success in one way or another. Bosses that were lenient, friends that offered motivation and sometimes direction, parents that offered unflinching support and the Department of Petroleum Engineering that gave us the foundation upon which we built our success and the stepping stone from which we made our giant leap. Nostalgic as this memoir may be, it reeks of untold tales for there is not enough time or space. This is our story of steely determination cloaked in carefree jokes, of the small hours of new days spent in skype conversations about profit margins and company cultures, and of laptop keyboards restless beneath our manic fingers. This is the story of The Coven of the Trustworthy.

– OLADIPO, Akintunde Oluwatobiloba

for Awo Omoluwabi