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Oil and gas executives can secure the biggest pay packets if they are willing to work in Nigeria, according to a new study

Research released this week by recruiter The Curzon Partnership said that energy firms in the African nation were now paying the biggest country premiums to attract staff.

The news that expats demand more to live in Nigeria is perhaps unsurprising when it comes in the same month as the murder of a British expat in the north-west region of the country.

Chris McManus, a construction worker from Oldham, was killed after the British government attempted to stage a rescue mission for him and an Italian colleague who had been taken hostage by terrorists last May. According to the Foreign Office, at least 24 British nationals and 200 foreign nationals have been kidnapped in the Niger Delta the countrys oil producing region since January 2007.

Some oil and gas executives and their families do perceive frontier markets like Nigeria as riskier than other markets and the high country premium reflects that, said Helen Di Mauro, a partner at The Curzon Partnership. Oil and gas companies recognise that the incentives have to be high because life as an expat in Nigeria is so different from countries with broader industries and higher standards of living.

The headhunter said these incentives were often worth as much as 45 per cent of a basic salary, and had pushed the going rate for those at general manager level up to 290,000 per annum in Nigeria.

But Jake Molloy, secretary of the Offshore Energy Branch of the union RMT, said the big bucks dont necessarily extend to those further down the oil and gas chain, such as those working on offshore rigs.

The average punter doesnt attract a significantly higher salary in Nigeria. There is obviously a supplement for the cost of travel and the location timings, because they have month-on-month-off working down there. They are compensated to some extent for that but its nothing major and in fact there are some cases where they are earning less, said Molloy.

But he said the risks are lower offshore. Senior (Xetra: 852271 - news) people would spend more of their time onshore so they are more vulnerable to being taken than those offshore, who are on installations that are small steel islands many kilometres away from the shoreline, which are therefore relatively secure.

He said the union advises oil workers to check Foreign Office advice before travelling to Nigeria, and to avoid smaller employers, which may not have the same ability to ensure the safety and security of staff as larger companies.

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Expats in Nigeria top for oil and gas pay