*Approves 312 Nigerian Content Plans
*Issues 402 Nigerian Content Compliance Certificates
As at 2024, the Nigerian Content performance level in the oil and gas industry has hit 56 percent, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe has said.
Giving an insight into the feat, Ogbe who disclosed this in his keynote address at the 13th Practical Nigerian Content (PNC) forum in the Bayelsa State capital, Yenagoa also revealed that the Nigerian Content level stood at 54 percent as at December 2022 and 2023, increasing significantly from 26 percent in 2016 before the introduction of the Nigerian Content 10-year strategic roadmap.
Maritime Bits had reported that Nigerian content performance level is calculated on year-on-year basis by the Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate of the NCDMB and is anchored on the ongoing projects in the upstream, midstream and downstream segments of the oil and gas industry.
Data is aggregated from total amounts expended on projects and the Nigerian content components of the annual spend. The data is mined from statutory reports submitted by companies and the integrity those data is verified during Nigerian content performance reviews and workshops and they must sync with the Nigerian Content Compliance Certificates (NCCC) on projects approved by the board.
According to the NCDMB helmsman, the latest increase marks a significant milestone in the board’s march toward 70 percent Nigerian Content by 2027 as set out in its 10-Year Strategic Road Map (2017-2027).
He also disclosed that no fewer than 312 Nigerian Content Plans have thus far been approved by the board just as 402 Nigerian Content Compliance Certificates (NCCCs) were issued.
In the same vein, the new Project Certification and Authorisation Directorate (PCAD) guidelines has reduced the board’s touch points from nine to five and the contracting cycle cut to six months.
The highpoint of the PNC forum was the unveiling of the academy by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo and the Minister for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Right Hon. Heniken October Lokpobiri as well as Ogbe and a representative of the Bank of Industry (BoI) signing an agreement on the Revised Nigerian Content Community Contractors Financing Scheme (NCCCFS).
Maritime Bits checks revealed that the NCCCFS addresses a critical challenge faced by local contractors in accessing much-needed funds for contracts awarded by oil and gas companies.
To make the NCCCFS attain its set goals and objectives, N15 billion has been earmarked for the fund and the single obligor limit has been increased from N20 million to N100 million.
Ogbe further revealed that the Nigerian Content Academy recently established by NCDMB to train and prepare Nigerians through a range of courses that cover every aspect of the oil and gas industry from upstream exploration to downstream processing, has set new career paths and economic opportunities for local communities.
He explained that the Back-to-the-Creeks Initiative which focuses on taking Nigerian Content benefits to local communities, especially developing basic educational facilities in communities and equipping youths in host communities with the skills needed to meet industry demands, and thus directly supporting the local content drive.
Ekpo had in his address hailed NCDMB for systematically aligning its local content policy initiatives with Federal Government’s gas development agenda.
Apparently pleased with the strides the board has made since its inception, Ekpo listed the NCDMB’s support for compressed natural gas (CNG) projects, modular gas processing plants, manufacturing plants for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders, LPG depots, LPG terminals, LPG storage and bottling plants, gas gathering facilities, smart gas and detector alarm services, as critically important areas where it strategic intervention has made tremendous impact across Nigeria.
According to the Minister, in the last 12 months, two critical gas projects were completed namely, SEPLAT Assa North and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) Ohaji South, with a combined capacity of 600 million standard cubic feet/day. Also, the 300 MMscfd Kwale Gas Gathering (KGG) Hub and Injection Facility, jointly executed by Xenergy Limited and the NCDMB, were commissioned within the same period.
He argued that while “gas will be the mainstay of Nigeria’s energy shift” as the world transits to renewables, government is “giving local businesses a chance to engage in gas distribution, processing, and power generation.
He stated the theme of the PNC “Defining the Next Frontier for Nigerian Content Implementation” is “a call to action and a reaffirmation of Nigeria’s commitment to leveraging our local capabilities to drive energy security, economic growth, and environment sustainability.”
Ekpo enjoined the organisers of the PNC to ensure that the event functions as “a spur for practical ideas that move our country closer to a promising and sustainable energy future.”
Lokpobiri on his part, hailed NCDMB for organising PNC and for significant milestones recorded since its establishment in 2010.
The minister revealed that wherever he has been across Africa for oil and gas-related events, other countries want to come to Nigeria to learn from its local content success story.
Lokpobiri who made history as the pioneer speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly argued that there is no reason to be alarmed on divestments by international oil and gas companies (IOCs) in Nigeria as indigenous operating companies have adequately filled the gaps and thus significantly increased the country’s stake in the industry.
The minister maintained that the affected IOCs have not left the country but simply moved their investments and operations from onshore to deep offshore just as he enjoined industry players to be strategic in their thinking.
He noted that “quality, standards and capacity developed have to be sustained” if the country is to be able to sustain the gains made so far.
The Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri in his remarks lauded NCDMB and industry stakeholders for putting together PNC.
Diri who was represented by his deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo stated that PNC has yielded remarkable developments in the petroleum industry.
He disclosed that Bayelsa State accounts for about 60 per cent of the gas feedstock for the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) project, Bonny Island, Rivers State which has now progressed to Train 7.
According to him, the oil and gas rich state deserves to have one of the NLNG trains built within its territory in recognition of its eminent position in the oil and gas industry.
Apart from Ekpo and Lokpobiri, other top government officials and industry leaders also graced the PNC.
These include the Chairperson, Senate Committee on Local Content, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and her counterpart in the lower chamber of the National Assembly, Hon. Boma Goodhead; the Secretary General of the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO), Dr. Umar Farouk Ibrahim and chief executives of international and indigenous oil and gas companies and operating and regulatory agencies in the petroleum sector.
