City People Magazine has honoured Joyce Efekpogua Fiemotongha with the 2022 Outstanding Talent STEM Award in Oil and Gas Trading & Market Innovation, recognising her exceptional contribution to oil and gas trading and her pioneering use of data-driven strategies to navigate volatile global markets.
Hosted annually by City People Magazine, the Outstanding Talents Awards spotlight professionals whose achievements redefine benchmarks and contribute to national development. Chosen from over 100,000 nominees across the nation and in the diaspora, Joyce stood out for her unique ability to merge analytics, compliance, and operational discipline into strategies that deliver consistent results. For the Awards Committee, her story is a clear example of how data and discipline can reshape Nigeria’s energy sector.
A graduate of the University of Port Harcourt with a degree in Computer Science, Joyce has built a career on the intersection of technology and energy. She began her professional journey in 2007 at Swift Oil Ltd, where she led marketing campaigns that boosted brand visibility by 30 percent and increased sales by 20 percent in a single year. Managing more than 50 corporate clients and securing multi-million-dollar contracts, she quickly demonstrated her capacity to blend commercial instincts with structured execution.
By 2011, Joyce had moved fully into commodity trading. She negotiated contracts worth over $100 million annually, achieved a 95 percent on-time delivery rate, and cut procurement costs by 15 percent through stronger contract terms and supplier due diligence. Her ability to read global oil price trends and identify profitable trading opportunities delivered steady growth in profitability during her years in that role.
Since 2014, Joyce has served as Senior Trading Analyst at Tonesway Energy & Transport Services Ltd. In this capacity, she has designed and executed trading strategies that improved margins by 15 percent year-on-year and sustained an impressive 90 percent accuracy rate in forecasting crude oil benchmarks such as Brent and WTI. Her truck programming systems boosted sales efficiency by 40 per cent and raised revenues by 20 per cent.
Her operational impact is equally visible. She streamlined cargo clearance, reducing processing times by 30 per cent, and introduced tighter coordination with banks to ensure timely submission of guarantees to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, cutting payment delays by 20 percent. She has represented her company in more than 50 demurrage reconciliation and marketing review meetings, saving approximately $500,000 annually in potential penalties.
This year’s award also recognises her contributions to research and thought leadership. Joyce co-authored The Strategic Influence of Geopolitical Events on Crude Oil Pricing, published in 2022, which provided practical frameworks for traders responding to global shocks. The paper demonstrated how events such as geopolitical conflicts and supply chain disruptions translate into actionable strategies for African oil markets, further establishing her as a professional whose expertise extends beyond the trading desk.
“This award is about recognising professionals who combine technical depth with measurable impact. Joyce has delivered results at scale, through foresight, expertise, and disciplined execution,” says Wale Lawal, Senior Editor at City People Magazine.
For Joyce, compliance is a competitive advantage. She has maintained a perfect compliance record on vessel nominations, PPMS filings, and regulatory submissions, ensuring that her company avoids penalties while maintaining credibility with regulators and stakeholders. By fostering strong relationships with more than 20 tank-farm owners, regulators, and banks, she has also reduced operational bottlenecks by 25 per cent.
Her professional development reflects a global perspective. She has completed training in Oil & Gas Industry Operations and Markets at Duke University and Supply Chain Management through KAIST. She also holds the Certified Management Consultant designation and is a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants, achievements that highlight her commitment to excellence and ethical leadership.
Speaking on the award, Joyce expressed gratitude and reflected on the principles guiding her career. “Markets reward discipline and clarity. My job is to build processes that turn uncertainty into informed decisions, compliantly, transparently, and profitably,” she said.
The Awards Committee described her as “evidence-led, ethically grounded, and operationally relentless.” In their words, “Joyce Fiemotongha doesn’t just predict the market; she prepares organisations to win in it.”
Her recognition at the 2022 City People Awards places her among the top professionals shaping Nigeria’s energy future today. With her combination of analytical precision, compliance-driven leadership, and market innovation, Joyce represents the standard for a new generation of oil and gas leaders in Africa.
