Brass LNG Backs Nigerian Content Act

Mr Vincenzo Di Lorenzo, Managing Director of Brass Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), has said that the company is in support of the Nigerian Content Act.

President Goodluck Jonathan signed the Bill into law on April 22.

Lorenzo spoke at a workshop on the Nigerian Content Act organised by the LNG and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in Port Harcourt on Thursday.

He said the company would respect and implement the spirit and letter of the Nigerian Content Law.

Brass LNG is a company set up to produce liquefied natural gas from most of the associated gas that is being flared in the course of crude oil production in the Niger Delta region.

It is projected that at the peak of its production, more than 12,000 jobs will be provided for Nigerians.

The managing director said, “Our support is not only obligatory as good citizens.

“It derives from the foundation of Brass LNG’s cherished values of fairness, hard work and commitment towards making a positive impact on the lives of those we relate with.”

Lorenzo said that 500 Nigerian workers and 25 expatriates were engaged for early site works at the Brass LNG in 2009 and that the work took 2.5 million hours to be completed.

He said that in December 2007, the company received certification from the Nigerian Content Development Division of the NNPC for three job packages, running into millions of naira.

“These are the early site works, tanks, ITT and the utility offsite packages”.

“We have received 10 other certifications from Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board covering an entire range of jobs for this project,’’ he said.

In his speech, Mr Emeka Nwapa, Executive Secretary of NCDMB, said he was impressed by the degree of mobilisation and enthusiasm shown by investors within and outside the country since the act came into effect.

He said, “While several Nigerians are investing and forming partnerships to take advantage of the opportunities shown by the act, others see the content as a way of fronting for foreign companies.”

Nwapa said the board would soon commence a verification exercise to capture the ownership profile and equipment status of the companies operating in Nigeria.

He explained that verifying the ownership profile and equipment status was a pre-qualification requirement identified in the Act.