NOGICD Act 2010 records tremendous success in Nigeria petroleum industry—Obah
The Director, Planning Research and Statistics, Nigerian Content Development Management Board (NCDMB), Patrick Obah has revealed that the “Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act 2010, established NCDMB as the sole agency for local content implementation in the oil and gas industry,” saying “The Act has set minimum targets in 278 services across oil and gas value chain”.
Prior to the NOGICD Act, there was un-bridled importation of goods and services with attendant capital flight, dearth of in-country capacity, and un-employment. The narratives then was that nothing can be done in-country
This significant project, The Guardian learnt, was driven by critical factors like:
Other strategic advantages of the Act include integration of oil producing communities into the oil and gas value chain; maximisation of participation of Nigerians in oil and gas activities; maximisation of utilisation of Nigerian resources (goods/services) and assets; and attraction of investments into the Nigeria oil and gas sector (service providers and equipment suppliers, among others.)
There are also other propellers including linking of oil and gas sector to other sectors of the economy to add to the growth of the Gross Domestic Product and well-being of Nigerians; and fostering of institutional collaborations/integrations.
In an interview, he stressed that “We have recorded tremendous success in fabrication, training, vessels acquisition, manufacturing, pipe coating, among others”.
“Our 10-year vision is to achieve 70 per cent in-country value retention. We have put in place strategies to achieve this and look forward to the support of all in making this a reality.”
Business Hilights recalls that recently, stakeholders in Nigeria’s business environment called for an aggressive active participation of Nigerian companies to actively use the Local Content Act, as a tool to develop the country’s huge natural resources for economic development, while also dispersing wealth generated for inclusive growth.
Industry experts averred that the policy has been identified as a strategy to increase the participation of local firms in the value-chain of various sectors; improve inbound logistics and also create more employment opportunities for the indigenous workforce.
However, the Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Simbi Wabote was of the view that the local content policy is still faced with challenges ranging from weak sectoral linkages, weak infrastructural base, policy inconsistency, skill gap, and the economic factor.
