Not less than N450 million has been rake in by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) from its investment in an indigenous refinery, Waltersmith Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited.
The board which announced this recently in a statement obtained by Maritime Bits stated that it received the money as an interim dividend payment out of the N1.5 billion declared by the Waltersmith Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited.
Giving an insight into the profit made by the board, it said the payment represents its 30 percent share in the company for the year ended 2023.
Maritime Bits had reported that NCDMB in July 2018 invested $10 million to acquire 30 percent stake in the 5000 barrels per day (bpd) modular refinery project located at Ibigwe, Imo State to support the Federal Government’s policy on modular refinery, stimulate investment and create employment opportunities.
The Executive Secretary NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omotsola Ogbe was said to have confirmed that a total dividend of N4.5 billion had been approved for the year 2023, pending final approval at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Waltersmith Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited recently.
The modular refinery was said to have made a total profit of N23.6 billion as profit after tax for 2023.
Ogbe expressed optimism that NCDMB will receive additional 30 percent of the outstanding N3 billion dividends after the AGM is convened later this year.
The NCDMB helmsman added that the receipt of the interim dividend payment is a testament to the strong performance and profitability of Waltersmith Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited.
His words: “The NCDMB is proud to be a part of this success and looks forward to continued collaboration with the company in the future”.
According to him, the company is up scaling the refinery capacity from 5000 bpd to 10,000bpd and the expansion project is 44 percent completed and will be commissioned early next year.
It has been stated that NCDMB’s investment in Waltersmith was also geared to catalyse Nigeria’s industrialisation and its linkage sectors and deepen Nigerian content in the oil and gas industry.
The project is on record as the first third-party investment embarked by the board and it provided proof of concept and paved the way for its other successful investments.
Two weeks ago, NCDMB received a cheque of $1 million from Nedogas Development Company Limited (NDCL), being part of the return on investment (ROI) on one of its strategic investments.
The cheque was presented by the Chairman of the company, Engr. Emeka Ene when he visited the Nigerian Content Tower, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State where he was received by Ogbe and other board members.
Nedogas Development Company Limited (NDCL) is a joint venture company between Xenergi Limited and NCDMB Capacity Development Intervention Company and it culminated in the construction and commissioning of a 300 MMscfd capacity Kwale Gas Gathering (KGG) and injection facility located in the Umusam Community, near Kwale in Delta State.
