Oil & Energy
NCDMB Targets 70% Local Content Policy Implementation By 2027
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has expressed hopes that a 70 per cent local content policy implementation in the execution of projects and programmes in the nation’s oil and gas industry will be achieved in the next two years, 2027.
At the moment, the country has been able to achieve a 56 per cent implementation, being one of the major gains of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, 2010.
The Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Felix Omatsola Ogbe, made the remark during an interactive session with the visiting team of ranking military officers from the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC), at the NCDMB Corporate Headquarters, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Last Thursday.
Represented by the Director, Corporate Services and Capacity Building, Dr. Ama Ikuru, Ogbe observed that the Nigerian Army had raised the bar in research and development as well as local content, in relation to human capital development and local manufacturing of some components used in military operations.
According to him, the earlier phase was marked by capital flight amounting to an estimated US$380 billion, loss of two million jobs as a result of human capital deficits, and less than five per cent in local content.
He said upon the enactment of the NOGICD Act, there has been a phenomenal development of in-country capacity and capabilities as a result of creative enforcement and monitoring of industry operations as well as strategic interventions by the NCDMB.
Ogbe declared that the NCDMB aimed to ensure that equipment and tools as well as services required for oil and gas operations are made and procured in Nigeria.
“We take research and development seriously”, he noted, citing the centres of excellence established, equipped and funded by the Board in the six universities, one in the six geopolitical zones of the country.
While conducting the guests, which comprised officers between the ranks of Lieutenant Colonel and General currently undergoing an 11-month leadership and strategic course 3/2024 and on local study tour round different sections and facilities of the board, Ogbe took the team through the board’s Technology Innovation and Incubation Centre (TIIC), underscoring the success story in aiding individuals with innovative ideas and facilitating technology adaptation and process improvement.
In further elaboration of the board’s activities and engagements, the Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, Alhaji Abdulmalik Halilu, noted that there was a history of “mutually beneficial partnership between the army and the NCDMB”, citing the involvement of the board’s personnel as resource persons at the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna.
According to him, “It is good the military sees NCDMB as a partner”.
In his remarks, the General Manager, Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, Esueme Dan Kikile, said the visit of the military officers afforded the board and guests a useful platform for interaction and knowledge sharing, urging the guests to tell the success story of the NCDMB everywhere.
Team leader for the military officers, Major General Abubakar A. Tarfa (rtd), explained that the local study tour was part of an 11-month course revealing that members of the team were made up of professionals in diverse fields including engineering, medicine, nursing, and administration.
He said the course was designed to prepare participants for higher responsibilities, adding that the tour would provide necessary exposure to having the officers acquainted with the NCDMB and its role and monitoring programmes that “ensures steady growth in local content in the oil and gas industry”.
Tarfa explained that there is a relationship between leadership, strategy and national security, insisting that the training and associated activities underline such realities.
He said, “military assistance to civil authority for oil production in the Niger Delta toward national development” was a major motivating factor in their study tour of the state.
Speaking on behalf of participants, Lt. Col. Juliet Aziekwu expressed appreciation for the interactive session, saying “We are better informed about the NCDMB and its role, we’ll put the knowledge into use”.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Deputy Manager, Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, noted that “there is a nexus between what the military officers were in the state to do and what the NCDMB does, that is, capacity building”.
Nigeria’s losses due to crude oil theft has been said to be more significant than those of some other members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC).
The Chairman, Senate Ad- hoc Committee on Crude Oil Theft, Senator Ned Nwoko, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Abuja.
Nwoko noted with dismay the detrimental impact of the issue, which, he said include economic damage, environmental destruction, and its impact on host communities.
According to him, the theft was not only weakening the Naira, but also depriving the nation of vital revenue needed for infrastructure, healthcare, education and social development.
The Senator representing Delta North Senatorial District described the scale of the theft as staggering, with reports indicating losses of over 200,000 barrels per day.
Nwoko disclosed that the ad hoc committee on Crude Oil Theft, which he chairs, recently had a two-day public hearing on the rampant theft of crude oil through illegal bunkering, pipeline vandalism, and the systemic gaps in the regulation and surveillance of the nation’s petroleum resources.
According to him, the public hearing was a pivotal step in addressing one of the most pressing challenges facing the nation.
‘’Nigeria loses billions of dollars annually to crude oil theft. This is severely undermining our economy, weakening the Naira and depriving the nation of vital revenue needed for infrastructure, healthcare, education, and social development.
‘’The scale of this theft is staggering, with reports indicating losses of over 200,000 barrels per day more than some OPEC member nations produce.
‘’This criminal enterprise fuels corruption, funds illegal activities and devastates our environment through spills and pollution.
‘’The public hearing was not just another talk shop; it was a decisive platform to uncover the root causes of crude oil theft, bunkering and pipeline vandalism.
‘’It was a platform to evaluate the effectiveness of existing surveillance, monitoring, and enforcement mechanisms; Identify regulatory and legislative gaps that enable these crimes to thrive.
‘’It was also to engage stakeholders, security agencies, host communities, oil companies, regulators, and experts to proffer actionable solutions; and strengthen legal frameworks to ensure stricter penalties and more efficient prosecution of offenders”, he said.
Nwoko noted that Nigeria’s survival depended
Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd. (SNEPCo) has called on Nigerian companies to position themselves strategically to take full advantage of the growing opportunities in upcoming offshore and shallow water oil and gas projects.
The Managing Director, SNEPCO, Ronald Adams, made the call at the 5th Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) Conference, held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, last Thursday.
Adams highlighted the major projects, including Bonga Southwest Aparo, Bonga North, and the Bonga Main Life Extension, as key areas where Nigerian businesses can grow their capacity and increase their involvement.
“Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd. (SNEPCo) says Nigerian companies have a lot to benefit if they are prepared to take advantage of more opportunities in its offshore and shallow water oil and gas projects.
“Projects such as Bonga Southwest Aparo, Bonga North and Bonga Main Life Extension could grow Nigerian businesses and improve their expertise if they applied themselves seriously to executing higher value contracts”, Adams stated.
Adams noted that SNEPCo pioneered Nigeria’s deepwater oil exploration with the Bonga development and has since played a key role in growing local industry capacity.
He emphasized that Nigerian businesses could expand in key areas like logistics, drilling, and the construction of vital equipment such as subsea systems, mooring units, and gas processing facilities.
The SNEPCO boss explained that since production began at the Bonga field in 2005, SNEPCo has worked closely with Nigerian contractors to build systems and develop a skilled workforce capable of delivering projects safely, on time, and within budget both in Nigeria and across West Africa.
According to him, this long-term support has enabled local firms to take on key roles in managing the Bonga Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, which reached a major milestone by producing its one-billion barrel of oil on February 3, 2023.
The Emohua Local Government Area Administrator, Franklin Ajinwo, has pledged to improve electricity distribution in Oduoha Ogbakiri and its environs.
Ajinwo made the pledge recently while playing host in a courtesy visit to the Oduoha Ogbakiri Wezina Council of Chiefs, in his office in Rumuakunde.
He stated that arrangements are underway to enhance available power, reduce frequent outages, and promote steady electricity supply.
The move, he said, was aimed at boosting small and medium-scale businesses in the area.
“The essence of power is not just to have light at night. It’s for those who can use it to enhance their businesses”, he said.
The Administrator, who commended the peaceful nature of Ogbakiri people, urged the Chiefs to continue in promoting peace and stability, saying “meaningful development can only thrive in a peaceful environment”.
He also charged the Chiefs to protect existing infrastructure while promising to address the challenges faced by the community.
Earlier, the Oduoha Ogbakiri Wezina Council of Chiefs, led by HRH Eze Goodluck Mekwa Eleni Ekenta XV, expressed gratitude to the Administrator over his appointment and pledged their support to his administration.
The chiefs highlighted challenges facing the community to include incessant power outage, need for new transformers, and the completion of Community Secondary School, Oduoha.
The visit underscored the community’s expectations from the LGA administration.
With Ajinwo’s assurance of enhancing electricity distribution and promoting development, the people of Oduoha Ogbakiri said they look forward to a brighter future.
By: King Onunwor