(Special Report) Yes, NCDMB winning the race against time in local production, but…
On 22nd day of April, 2010, the former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan assented to the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act 2010. This started the journey of turning Nigeria from high importer of oil and gas production accessories to producers.
One of the key targets of the strategic move is to win the race against time when renewable energies will rule the world and tactically exit petroleum energy.
Already, the rise in the momentum of growth and divestments into renewables by global oil giants has started encouraging some International Oil Companies (IOCs) to start selling off their assets in Nigeria in preparation to quit.
So also, many oil industry spare parts manufacturers are closing shops, thus leaving economies that will still be dependent on oil to start thinking outside the box.
No doubt, in the course of thinking outside the box, NCDMB was born as a child of necessity.
NCDMB is Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board and it is currently managed under the Executive Secretaryship of Engr. Simbi Wabote.
The mandate of the Board as stated in the Act is very clear and self-explanatory.
However, under the current leadership at NCDMB, there seems to be huge energy deposit in driving growth and race against the time when there will be no where in the world where oil and gas spare parts are being produced to drive petroleum industry. Besides, another star target of the Board is to drive the reversal of capital flight in the name of going abroad to buy oil and gas accessories.
Currently, across the Niger Delta States, the Board has started building of National Oil and Gas Park Scheme (NOGaPS) to promote manufacturing on oil and gas industry and its linkage sectors so as to sustain Nigeria’s economy under petroleum in the near future.
During a recent tour of the completed NOGaPS in Odukpani in Cross Rivers State and Emeyal 1 community in Ogbia LGA of Bayelsa State, there are clear indications that Nigeria is on the right track of winning the race against time.
Besides, in an interview, the Corporate chief of the Board, Engr. Gina O. Ginah, told Business Hilights in confidence that whereas these two; Odukpani and Emeyal 1 are almost competed, similar scheme is ongoing in Imo, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Ondo, Delta and any other Niger Delta States.
Aside the energy being put to drive parks, only recently, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote performed the groundbreaking ceremony of a pipe manufacturing plant at Polaku, Bayelsa State, being promoted by AS Energies Limited. The plant would manufacture Glass Reinforced Epoxy (GRE) and Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) pipes and has an estimated investment outlay of about N7.04 billion ($8.8million).
Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary commended the Management of AS Energies Limited and its subsidiary, African Star Manufacturing Services Ltd, on the successful take-off of the construction work on the pipe manufacturing plant.
He noted that the project is in line with the mission statement of NCDMB: “to promote the development and utilization of in-country capacities for the industrialization of Nigeria through the effective implementation of the Nigerian Content Act’’
He further described the ongoing construction activities as a dream come true for the Polaku community as plans for a pipe manufacturing mill in the area had been on the drawing board for a decade.
He said the Polaku community and the Gbarain Clan, generally are blessed, given the concentration of strategic industries in the area and indications that others would be there. Some of the firms that are in the locality include the Shell Gas Gathering Plant, Azikel Refinery (a modular hydro-skimming processing plant), the US$45 million Types 3 LPG Composite Cylinder Manufacturing Plant, owned by Rungas Prime Industries Limited, and Eraskon Nigeria Limited.
Engr. Wabote said the Pipe Manufacturing Plant is a testament to the giant strides in local content drive in the country, while assuring AS Energies Ltd that the NCDMB would give due consideration to its request for support. He equally enjoined the company’s Management to explore available financing options so as to ensure project delivery on schedule.
The NCDMB boss expressed delight that AS Energies’ pipes will be produced to meet the regulatory standards such as: ISO 9001- Quality Management System Requirements; ISO 14001 – Environmental Management System Standard; & BS 18001 – Occupational Health & Safety Management System Standard,
Aside the Polaku project, in line with its mandate and continued efforts of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to support the development of in-country capacities that would serve the Nigerian oil and gas industry and allied sectors, the Executive Secretary, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote recently led representatives of international operating oil and gas companies and their service counterparts to visit Orbit Galvanized Steel Industries Limited at Ikorodu, Lagos, a subsidiary of the African Industries Group (AIG).
One of the assets of the company is a state-of-the-art fabrication and hot dip galvanizing plant. The firm also has capacities to manufacture and supply substation structures, telecom/microwave towers, solar module mounting structures,and railway structures and is currently active in solar power, electric power, mining, and agriculture.
Speaking after inspecting the facility, the Executive Secretary observed that the galvanizing plant was conceived to serve other sectors of the economy, but the promoters realized that they could equally take advantage of the opportunities in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, which prompted the invitation of NCDMB and other stakeholders to their facility. He commended the company for their investment, noting that having a diverse clientele would enable its sustainability and profitability.
He said the company had huge potential and needed to be supported to enable it to meet all the technical standards required by the oil and gas industry. He emphasized that the oil and gas industry operates with very strict standards and zero tolerance for compromise because any failure would have colossal consequences on human lives and economic resources.
Wabote urged Orbit Galvanized Steel to work assiduously on getting the relevant certifications and meeting the standards of the oil and gas industry, as well as registering with all the relevant regulatory agencies in the country.
He said the galvanizing facility might help address the challenge faced by the NLNG Train 7 project in finding the required operational galvanizing capacity in-country.
He charged Nigeria LNG Ltd and the consortium of service companies contracted on the Train 7 project – Saipem, Chiyoda,Daewoo – to work closely with Orbit Galvanized Steel to upgrade the galvanizing facility to the required standards so it can provide services for their project and other potential projects in the future.
He reiterated that the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act mandates the Board to ensure that critical capacities developed in Nigeria are patronized by the oil and gas industry, to create employment opportunities and retain spend in the local economy.
As NOGOF 2023 begins today, being the fourth edition of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) 2023, it will explore emerging opportunities in the oil and gas industry, linkage sectors as well as the entire African continent.
Speaking recently in Abuja in a media parley convened ahead of the biennial NOGOF scheduled to hold at the NCDMB Conference Hall in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on May 18 and 19, with delegates registration and a welcome cocktail planned for a day earlier.
He explained that NOGOF was conceptualized in 2016 as part of the Board’s strategies to develop the oil and gas industry and provide a platform to showcase the various opportunities available in the oil and gas industry and foster necessary partnerships in the sector. He expressed regrets that Nigerian oil and gas service companies missed out on several opportunities in the sector prior to the introduction of NOGOF because no fora existed to showcase forthcoming projects and give them ample to prepare themselves and acquire requisite capacities.
He hinted that previous editions of NOGOF have made a tremendous impact on the Nigerian oil and gas industry, pointing to the ongoing Nigeria LNG Train 7 project as one of the visible benefits. He explained that 50 percent of the entire US$5bn project scope is currently being executed in-country through Nigerian vendors and that was achieved because key officials of the Nigeria LNG showcased the opportunities inherent in the project at the 2019 edition of NOGOF, thus enabling indigenous companies to prepare themselves adequately.
He hinted that the local content accomplishment on the Train 7 project is a major departure from the insignificant levels that were recorded while constructing Train 1-6. He affirmed that Nigeria could target 70 percent of the entire project scope when the next train of the LNG would be executed.
On the expansion of 2023 NOGOF to linkage sectors and countries, the Executive Secretary explained that the oil and gas industry has the potential to catalyze industrialization and promote economic growth across sectors, not just in Nigeria, but across the continent. “We hope to stimulate investment, foster technology transfer, and enhance local content development across the African oil and gas value chain,” he added.
He emphasized the need to explore the opportunities that lie in other African countries, especially after we had built huge capacities in-country and they are not being matched by local opportunities and projects. He said: “In that case, you need to expand your market outside. We tell our sister African countries that there is no need to go to America, Europe and Asia for oil and gas capacities that exist in the continent, an example is the FPSO integration facility in Lagos. They should come to Nigeria and other sister African countries, so we can share the benefits, reduce our costs and grow together, especially with the spirit of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA).
Now, to show that the world is recording the milestones of NCDMB,a fortnight ago, it was a night of colourful display of African culture and honour at the inaugural African Heritage Concert and Awards, where the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote was conferred with the Champion of Local Content Development in Africa Award.
The event was held in Kigali, Rwanda featured a stellar cast of change makers across Africa who physically picked up their awards, including the immediate past Nigerian President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who won the African Democracy and Peace Icon Award; former President of the Republic of Botswana, Dr. Seretse Khama Ian Khama, who picked up the Africa Philanthropist Award, and pan-Africanist and legal practitioner, Prof PLO Lumumba, who was conferred with the Africa Advancement Icon Award.
Some other winners included the late President of the Republic of Tanzania, Mr. John Magufuli, who won the African Icon Award (posthumous); the former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Olumide Akpata, who was conferred with the African Legal Icon Award and the Triplets Ghetto Kids from Uganda, who won the African Entertainment Award.
The Executive Secretary dedicated the award to his family and the hard-working staff of the Board. He noted the award and several others he had clinched in the past were made possible by the staff’s dedication and support. He hinted that the award would challenge him to continue promoting local content across Africa in concert with other organisations and individuals.
He emphasised that all Africa nations should optimize value addition to their natural resources and develop the capacities and capabilities of their human resources, so they can participate fully in the value chain of their extractive industries, particularly the oil and gas industry. He stated that NCDMB had already started to promote local content implementation in the linkage sectors such as mining, power and manufacturing. He indicated that the primary task for the various African nations is to energize their core sectors and inculcate the can-do belief in their nationals.
Yes, Business Hilights asserts that whereas the NCDMB is clearly winning the race against time, it needs the support of everyone and most importantly, the incoming administration.
