Business
NCDMB Recounts Gains On Local Content Law
Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, has restated the gains and successes accruing to oil and gas sector of the nation’s economy through the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, 2010.
He said the act has reset the oil and gas industry’s spendings and has also developed in-country capacity.
Ogbe, who spoke on the theme “Local Content and Sustainable Inclusive Economic Growth”, at the 2024 Namibia Oil and Gas Conference un Windhoek, noted that recent discoveries of hydrocarbon deposits have increased the oil and gas reserves of the continent to about 126 billion barrels of oil and about 614 trillion cubic feet of gas.
He noted that the adoption of local content policy for the oil and gas industry and other resources is a veritable means through which African countries can ensure that the utilization of their resources will translate to energy security, economic development, and industrialization of the continent.
The NCDMB boss said since the enactment of the NOGICD Act in 2010, Nigeria has recorded significant achievements, which, according to him, include the creation of over 30,000 direct jobs, over 15 million training man hours, award of over 90per cent of contracts to Nigerian-owned businesses, and utilisation of the expatriate management system to ensure 80per cent of oil companies’ management positions are held by Nigerians.
It also include growth of successful indigenous operators who are now responsible for the production of more than 60per cent of Nigeria’s domestic gas requirements and over 15per cent of crude oil production.
“As at the end of 2023, we have reached Nigerian Content level of 54per cent and we are committed to achieving the set target of 70per cent by 2027”, the Executive Secretary said.
Represented by the General Manager, Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, Esueme Dan Kikile, the NCDMB helmsman shared the Board’s experience as a regulator responsible for deepening and driving local content in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
He noted that a successful local content policy must entail the deployment of six key parameters, namely, regulatory framework, gap analysis, capacity building, funding and incentives, research and development, and access to market.
According to him, a law, or decree, depending on the political arrangement in a country, sets the framework and boundaries for all local content practitioners.
“In Nigeria, the NOGICD Act of 2010 is the regulatory framework that drives local content policy. It’s a structured capacity-building intervention.
“It’s also necessary to foster the development of in-country capacities and capabilities, while gap analysis is to ensure that baseline and periodic gap evaluations are carried out to ascertain the human capacity and infrastructure deficits which will then form the basis for developing initiatives, projects, and programmes that will seek to close the identified gaps.
“In addition, local companies require incentives and low-interest, long-term funds to be able to develop their capacities which will, in turn, enable them to compete favourably in the oil and industry”, he said.
Ogbe emphasised the importance of research and development, which, he noted, would facilitate the development of innovative solutions to address peculiar challenges that are being experienced in a nation’s oil and gas industry.
He also underscored the necessity for access to market as developed capacities and capabilities that need patronage to be sustained.
“A market, within a country and across international boundaries, is imperative for the potential benefits of enhanced capabilities to be maximised.
“A robust local content implementation framework that serves as a blueprint, spelling out how local content policy will be implemented, also has to be in place. Five key components of the framework, as instituted by the NCDMB, are Analysis, Guidelines and Regulations, Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Feedback Mechanism.
“Faithful adherence to these elements accounts significantly for the success of local content practice in Nigeria”, he restated.
The Tide learnt that Namibia has estimated crude oil reserves of 11 billion barrels and gas reserves of 2.2 trillion cubic feet. Pages 15 and 16, Mon, Aug 26, 2024
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
The Board stated this in a statement released by its Corporate Communications Directorate to newsmen, recently, during the inauguration of 140 trainees for the Train 7 Project.
The trainees had undergone the Nigerian Content Human Capacity Development (NC-HCD) programme it organised in partnership with the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The Tide gathered that the training programme was an intensive three-month Advanced NC-HCD Programme for the US$5 billion NLNG Train 7 Project on Bonny Island, Rivers State.
The trainees, The Tide further learnt are graduates in different academic disciplines who have completed a 12-month Basic Training Programme in diverse oil-and-gas-industry-related skill sets and are now set for an on-the-job phase which includes active hands-on participation in operational areas such as Turn Around Maintenance (TAM), Commissioning, and Desktop Programmes.
The Corporate Communications Directorate of the NCDMB told The Tide that in November 2024, a set of 331 trainees under Batch A of the NLNG T7 HCD Training Programme began capacity development in facility management, engineering, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Health Safety and Environment (HSE), Quality Assurance and Quality Control, as well as welding and fabrication.
According to the Board, additional 77 trainees under Batch B of the same Training Programme began capacity development in data analytics and supply chain management among several other fields relevant to the operations of the oil and gas industry.
While addressing the trainees and trainers who were drawn from the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN), Management Personnel of the NCDMB and NLNG, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr Felix Omatsola Ogbe, said the Advanced NC-HCD training is more than a milestone.
“The NC-HCD training programme is an expression of the collective commitment of the Board and the NLNG to nurturing world-class Nigerian professionals who will shape the future of our oil and gas industry.
“The Board has remained steadfast in its conviction that Human Capital Development is a critical investment in the sustainability and competitiveness of Nigeria’s oil and gas value chain”, the NCDMB boss said.
He said the situation has resulted in widened knowledge gaps and operational challenges.
As a globally regulated sector, he said it was important that stakeholders put measures in place to attract the talents required to move the industry forward.
Keyamo, therefore, called on stakeholders in the industry to be deliberate in identifying, encouraging, nurturing and harvesting young talents to ensure a sustainable supply of manpower to the aviation sector.
Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of the FAAN, Mrs Obiageli Orah, in a release made available to aviation correspondents, noted that the Minister deemed it necessary to attract the right quality of human resources required to move the sector forward.
“As a globally regulated sector, it is important that stakeholders put measures in place to continually attract the right quality and quantity of human resources required to move the industry forward.
“It is important to note that organising training programmes are avenues through which we can breed, nurture, and harvest such human resources.
“One of the critical challenges facing the industry is the ageing and retiring workforce, leading to widened knowledge gaps and operational issues.
“Training programmes, I believe, is among other things designed to make aviation appealing to the younger generation, while encouraging them to develop interest in taking up a career in the industry”, the statement stated.
Meanwhile, some aviation stakeholders have expressed concerns of countless young Nigerians who seek to make their mark in aviation, tourism, and the wider transport ecosystem but often face steep barriers to entry.
According to them, lack of access, limited mentorship, financial constraints, skill mismatches, and systemic gaps, among others, have posed some constraints to them.
The Tide gathered that by the appointment, Ogbe becomes Nigeria’s representative on the Board of the 18-member continental body, which has its headquarters at Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo.
Ogbe was picked for this role by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, who doubles as the Chairman of the NCDMB Governing Council.
The notice of the Executive Secretary’s appointment was conveyed in a congratulatory letter signed by the Director of Support Services, APPO, Mrs. Philomena Ikoko, on behalf of the Secretary-General of the organisation, Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim.
She applauded the NCDMB boss on the confidence reposed in him by the Minister, expressing her belief that he would make immense contributions to the development of the African oil and gas industry.
Mrs Ikoko stated that Ogbe was joining the Executive Board of APPO at a challenging time for the oil and gas industry, especially in Africa.
“Your appointment is a major call to duty for Nigeria and the continent. The secretariat will give you the support you will need to make a success of your assignment”, she said.
According to a statement by the Directorate of Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, the NCDMB played key roles in catalysing the operations of APPO and the development of local content in Africa.
The statement added that the board was providing institutional support and mentorship to several oil producing countries in their formulation of local content policies.
“The NCDMB initiated the African Local Content Roundtable (ALCR) and hosted the inaugural edition in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state, in June 2021, and the event was attended by key officials of APPO and other oil industry players.
“The idea for the Africa Energy Bank (AEB) was mooted by NCDMB’s officials at the event, as one of the strategies that would accelerate the growth of the African oil and gas industry and deepen local content.
“The Board also collaborated with APPO to host subsequent editions of the African Local Content Roundtable (ALCR), including the 2023 edition held at Abuja.
“The Africa Energy Bank, which APPO is setting up at Abuja, is aimed at pooling financial resources needed to fund big-ticket oil and gas projects across the continent, and bridge funding challenges currently impeding the development of the sector”, the NCDMB’S said.
Meanwhile, the APPO Secretary-General has said the Africa Energy Bank seeks to fund oil and gas projects across economies in Africa and help to plug critical financing gaps that exist through the continent’s over reliance on financiers from the West.
He added that each APPO member country is expected to raise $83 million with an objective of raising $5 billion capital for the establishment of the Bank.
The Tide learnt that recently Nigeria, Angola and Ghana have contributed their share capital for the African Energy Bank, which represents 44 percent of the trio’s contributions to the minimum capital that is required from oil producing countries in the continent.
It would be recalled that at the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) held recently, the NCDMB’s Scribe confirmed that the agency was part of key institutions that pooled resources for the formation of the Africa Energy Bank.
Ogbe announced that the Bank will open for business before the end of the 2nd quarter of this year, 2025, expressing hope that it will create more funding availability for local oil and gas projects and companies.
Similarly, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, had stated at the Offshore Technology Conference that Afrexim Bank has already raised $19billion for the take-off of the Africa Energy Bank.
According to him, $14 billion out of the funds represents the bank’s financial exposure on African oil and gas projects, with the additional $5 billion as take-off capital.
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