The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has tasked oil producing nations, especially in Africa, to introduce dedicated fund schemes at single digit interest rates which local service companies and manufacturers could access in order to grow indigenous capacity and capabilities.
The General Manager, Corporate Communications, NCDMB, Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, stated this at the Namibia Oil and Gas Conference held in Windhoek, Namibia, recently.
Ezeobi in his presentation at a panel session titled “Local Content Development:How Namibians Can Benefit from the Oil and Gas Industry”, advised Namibia and other African nations on the adoption of NCDMB’s project 100 initiative, whereby strategic financial and non-financial support are provided to select local service companies, to upscale their capacities, including providing them access to market.
He also recommended government’s partnerships with competent private sector players to deliver strategic energy projects that meet needs of the nation’s economy. Another suggestion was the facilitation of collaborations between local companies and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and government’s sponsorship of local service firms to international oil and gas conferences, to expose them to partnership opportunities and new technologies.
Responding to a question on challenges Nigeria faced at the onset of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, and how they overcame them, Ezeobi stated that Nigeria faced pushbacks from some international companies as well as scepticism over government’s commitment to implement the law. Other problems bordered on doubts regarding the technical capacity of local service companies, as well as the misconception by some indigenous operating companies and midstream and downstream players that the NOGICD Act did not cover their operations.
He expressed delight that those challenges had been largely overcome, through extensive engagements and communication with industry stakeholders, and by Nigerian service companies upscaling their capacities significantly and delivering top quality work on schedule consistently.
Ezeobi encouraged African oil producing nations to demonstrate strong political will when implementing local content policies and to communicate the policies effectively, ensuring that relevant stakeholders have good understanding of the policy, as well as their roles in the implementation and compliance processes.
The Director, Corporate Services at the NCDMB, Mr. Abdulmalik Halilu, in his presentation, titled “ Local Content Success Stories in Nigeria and Lessons learnt’’, listed Nigeria’s local content implementation pillars to include regulatory framework, access to market, gap analysis, capacity building, incentives and funding, and research and development.
He highlighted the key roles played by Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) who have over 101 companies that provide technology in diverse areas of the industry, employ over 30,000 Nigerians and have cumulative employment impact over 100,000.
He indicated that the implementation of the Nigerian Content 10-year strategic roadmap had grown Nigeria’s local content performance to 56 percent as at 2025. He identified some other initiatives of the NCDMB, such as capacity development, which is geared to build in-country value addition, funding and incentives as well as creating access to markets for service companies and manufacturing companies.
In his contribution, Chairman of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria(PETAN) and Board member of NCDMB, Mr. Wole Ogunsanya, advised the framers of the Namibian local content policy to decouple non-complex work packages from major projects.
He tasked them to borrow a leaf from the NOGICD Act in producing a detailed list of activities carried out in oil and gas industry operations. This approach would allow upcoming local companies to compete for the smaller packages, win and deliver on them successfully, providing a pathway for such firms to grow capacity sustainably.
As part of NCDMB and PETAN collaboration at the Namibia Oil and Gas Conference, the two organisations set up a joint exhibition booth and received leaders of the government, and oil and gas stakeholders. Most of the visitors to the booth wanted to understand Nigeria’s local content law, while others sought guidance or collaboration for different technical services they hope to deploy in their fast developing oil and gas industry.
COURTESY: thesun.ng
