By Godswill Odiong
The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, Mr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote has disclosed that the 10-year Strategy Roadmap launched in 2017 will increase Nigerian Content in the oil and gas industry to 70% by the year 2027.
Wabote said this on Monday in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State at the 11th Practical Nigerian Content Forum with the theme, “Deepening Nigerian Content Opportunities in the Decade of Gas”.
He said NCDMB rolled out five pillars and four enablers to drive the focus areas under the roadmap, each supported with short, medium, and long-term initiatives.
“We are now midway into the 10-year Strategic Roadmap and we are back here to provide feedback on the journey so far in our quest to deepen Nigerian Content in the Nigerian oil and gas industry”.
“Since 2018, our objective has always been to give status report of the various initiatives to industry stakeholders using the annual PNC Forum as a key platform. We are proud of the achievements realized in the last 5 years despite the general and specific challenges faced across the oil and gas industry locally and globally.
“Since the launch of the roadmap 5 years ago, we have seen dramatic changes in the prices of crude oil and natural gas, a global pandemic, major oil & gas discoveries, , Russian-Ukraine war, the return to coal even in the mist of increased clamor for energy transition, run-away inflation, and many other development including the fact that the world population is now eight (8) billion with the attendant need to meet their energy requirements in one form of the other.
“It is gratifying that the push for Nigerian Content as envisaged in our 10-year Strategic Roadmap has continued to yield results in the last 5 years. Out of the 96 initiatives under the strategic roadmap, we have completed 77.”
“It is my pleasure to announce that the 2022 Nigerian Content level in the Nigerian oil and gas industry is 54% based on our monitoring and evaluation of industry activities which bring the average in the last 5 years to 44% Nigerian Content level.
“This performance is well above the minimum target of 42% NC set for 2022 by the Board’s Project Management Office (PMO) just like we outperformed the 38% NC target set for 2021 by achieving 42% Nigerian Content.
While highlighting the achievements of the board, Wabote said “the top-3 performers of in-country spend in 2022 are Fabrication and Construction at 99% NC, Manpower at 81% NC, and Project Management at 80% NC.
The bottom-3 performers are Procurement at 34% NC, Engineering at 46% NC, and Services at 50% NC.
“The technical operations data shows the capture of the following into the NOGIC-JQS in 2022: 12 new operators to bring the total to 97; 1,303 service companies to bring the total to 9,537, and 22,512 individual registrations to bring the total to more than 271,000.
“A total of 889 Expatriate Quotas were approved in 2022 while 179 were rejected. The expatriate quota approval is trending down in the last five years. 178 NC Plans and 197 NC Compliance Certificates were approved in 2022.We have ensured increase in the involvement of Nigerian businesses in the industry contracting process resulting in increase of the number of contract awards to Nigerian firms from 79% in 2021 to 82% in 2022
“We are seeing increase in investors’ confidence in the industry resulting in new investments in structural steel fabrication and optical fiber cable manufacturing facility. There is deliberate inclusion of women owned companies and Project 100 companies in bidding for contracts.
“The Roadmap Checkpoint Review carried out in 2020 had highlighted the need to deliver a minimum of 11% year-on-year growth rate if we are to achieve the 70% NC target by 2027.
“Apart from the Year 2020, we have performed above target with year 2022 performance largely driven by the contracts awarded under the Train-7 project.
On human capacity development, he said we have achieved the following: “Completed training of 50 graduates under the field ready initiative with. 35 of them offered employment
Completed and commissioned construction of 3 new workshops and equipping of 5 workshops at GCDC Bassambiri
Completed renovation and upgrade of STEM laboratories for the FSTC Tungbo.
Completed and commissioned installation of Internet Service Infrastructure for the NMU Okerenkoko.
Completed and commissioned construction of 3 workshops and 3 classrooms for the University of Ibadan.
90% completion of upgrade of Youth Resource Centre, Bekwerra
Organized two sessions of business mentoring for Nigerian vendors. Over 1400 participants in attendance
PETAN Internship Program for 100 Nigerians with background in Petroleum, Electrical, Mechanical Engineering and Geosciences.
Rolled out Nigerian Content Policy on Procurement of PPE and bare line pipes
Commenced industry audit for Valves, Gaskets, Bolts and Nuts manufacturing in-country.
Training of over 7,000 youths in Bayelsa, Kano, Kaduna, Cross River, and Yobes states on GSM hardware repairs and software development
Completion of 70 ICT Centers in Secondary schools across the country.
“Our partnerships are also yielding results. The 30MMscf Nedo gas processing plant and the 300MMscfd gas hub tied to the OB-3 pipeline in Kwale, Delta State were commissioned earlier this year in support of the ‘’Decade of Gas’’, initiative of the Federal Government.
The 2,500barrels/day Duport Modular Refinery and the 48,000 litres/day Base Oil production plant located in Omagwa Rivers State are mechanically completed and awaiting commissioning.
The 5,000bpd Waltersmith Modular Refinery continues to deliver best in class operations performance.
The summary of our commercial venture partnership is that we have a total of 16 partnerships of which four (4) are operational, two (2) are ready for commissioning, four (4) are under construction with FAT completed, two are recently approved, while the remaining four are finalizing debt transactions with financiers.
We have finalized the implementation strategy for the CDI component of the Brass Island Shipyard under the Train-7 CDI Project. Tendering have largely progressed to completion for award of contracts for land acquisition, site clearing, and commencement of FEED studies.
Wabote while disclosing that the Forensic audit of the NCDF remittances in the period 2010 – 2017 have been largely completed with significant recoveries realized, he urged those still stalling about close-out of the forensic audit exercise to do the needful to prevent imposition of regulatory sanctions.
“Phase 2 of the forensic audit covering 2018 to 2021 commences in December 2022 with 20 Audit Firms already selected to carry out exercise”
“Our collaborative engagements and peer support given to our brothers and sisters in African countries continued this year with peer assist of the Ugandan National Oil Company in Supply Chain Development modeled after Project-100. The collaboration has resulted in the signing of MoU with PETAN to enhance the growth of Ugandan oil and gas service providers.
“We have further deepened the support we are giving to the Project-100 beneficiaries in the five intervention areas covering Access to Market, Capacity Building, Business Insights, Policy Interventions, and Research and Development. This year, three (3) Project 100 beneficiaries have been awarded NCDMB Guaranteed interest-free loans through intervention funds for remarkable improvements. In addition, P100 companies have accessed $10.6 Million from NCDMB-NEXIM and NCDMB-BOI intervention funds”.
On Funding, Wabote noted that the portfolio of Intervention Funds being managed by BOI and NEXIM Bank has grown to Five Hundred Million Dollars ($500 million) covering loans for asset acquisition, manufacturing, project finance, working capital, and women in oil and gas.
So far, the $300million NCIFund with BOI has been disbursed in full to more than sixty (60) businesses while about $15million application have been approved for disbursement under the NEXIM Bank products.
The products paper for the $50million NOGAPS Manufacturing Fund with BOI has been finalized and will be launched in January 2023 for qualified manufacturers to apply.
