Fresh statistics have emerged on why mid-way into a 10-year Strategic Road Map for enhanced indigenous participation and utilisation of local assets in oil and gas operations, industry regulator, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) recorded a 54 per cent Nigerian content level in 2022.
Checks by Business Hilights on data sourced at the agency showed that the capture of 12 new indigenous operators in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry, bringing the total to 97. In the service subsector, there were 1,303 new corporate entrants, raising the total to 9,532, while 22,512 individual registrations were recorded, bringing the total to more than 271,000.
On the other hand, the Board has commenced the process of “allocation of serviced plots to manufacturers [of equipment components, spares, and tools required in petroleum industry operations] to kick start operations within our NOGAPS [Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks] industrial parks at Emeyal 1, Bayelsa State, and Odukpani in Cross River State,” assuring that “Construction work is also ongoing at the other NOGAPS parks in Akwa Ibom, Imo, Delta and Ondo States with Edo as the newest addition to the list.”
However, the Board expressed the Board’s displeasure at the activities of indigenous oil and gas companies, which seek to undermine its effectiveness after they had benefitted from strategic interventions in funding and capacity building programmes of the organisation. He advised them to turn a new leaf and ensure compliance with regulations or face the consequences.
