Energy
NCDMB challenges service companies on employee motivation
…As Wellmann Group rewards staff with coy shares
By Yemie ADEOYE
WARRI-The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has charged indigenous service companies to explore creative strategies of motivating their staff so as to retain the skills and capacities they have developed within their companies.
The Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Ernest Nwapa stated this at the long term service award organized on Saturday in Warri by Wellmann Group, an indigenous oil servicing firm with expertise in heavy lifting and marine transportation, which offered stakes in the company to four of its long serving staff as strategy of rewarding and further motivating them.
Other recipients of the awards were the company’s strategic partners and clients like Nigerdock, Shell, Chevron, Subsea7, Total among others.
Nwapa who was represented at the event by the Board’s General Manager, Monitoring and Evaluation, Engr. Chijioke Okorie explained that retaining quality staff within service companies was fundamental to developing Nigerian Content as it would help firms develop institutional, technological and infrastructural capacities to deliver on projects.
Okorie described the achievements of Wellmann as a confirmation that the Board’s implementation strategies were working and yielding results.
According to him, “There were a number of jobs that some operating companies tried to give out to international service companies. The Board intervened and the jobs were placed with Wellmann. That helped to build the company’s capacity and infrastructure over the years. Wellmann is a good representative of Nigerian Content and the Board is proud of its growth.”
In his welcome address, the Chief Executive Officer of Wellmann Group, Mr. Chris Iyovwaye explained that the benefitting employees had worked devotedly in the establishment for over 10 years and had become stakeholders of the company.
He noted that they joined when the company was barely able to pay meagre salaries, hence deserve to receive a percentage of profit declared at the end of every financial year.
Iyovwaye commended the NCDMB for its implementation of the Nigerian Content Act, crediting the policy for the growth of the company especially in an area that was dominated by foreign players.
He further stated that “Wellmann is just one of the many success stories scattered all over Nigeria, doing well because of the implementation of the Nigerian Content Act. With determination and focus, we have grown from a company that hires equipment whenever it wanted to work, to a company owns every type of equipment whenever it goes to work.”
The CEO listed some of the company’s equipment to include self-propelled modular trailers, with capacity to lift and transport over 4000tons of structures at a single lift; modular jacking and weighing systems; offshore barges; ballast and mooring equipment and cranes.
He further attributed the success of the company to the ploughing back of resources generated from the business and expressed readiness to invest further in barging and tugboat business, which according to him was still dominated by foreign companies, thus contributing to huge capital flight.
In his comments, the Managing Director of Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited (WRPC), Engr. Paul Obelley extolled NCDMB for creating a climate that has encouraged Nigerians companies to thrive.
Obelley who chaired the event stated that “no matter how much Nigeria is rich in crude oil, if our people do not get involved in the service end of the industry, we would remain poor and unable to create jobs.”
According to him, the Nigerian Content Act is a good initiative for unlocking the wealth of the economy for Nigerians.
On Tuesday, renewed escalation of the conflict between the United States and Iran pressured oil prices to over $94/barrel.
Current hostilities which witnessed American air strikes on Iranian targets and triggered global concerns of disruption to crude supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
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Brent crude rose $4.06, or 4.49 percent, to $94.55 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate gained $4.44, or 5.18 percent, to $90.20 a barrel. Murban crude also surged by $7.19, or 7.30 percent, to $105.60 a barrel, according to Oilprice.com.
The rally followed the United States’ fresh strikes on Iran, with Washington saying its forces had targeted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC).
“Today (Tuesday) at 12 p.m. ET (1600 GMT), US forces began striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran.
“The strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region,” the US Central Command said.
The latest attacks have raised fresh concerns about the security around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil supplies. Oil prices had already risen following the exchange of attacks between the two countries over the weekend, while reports of attacks on tankers further fuelled supply concerns.
Reuters reported that two supertankers carrying Saudi oil were struck by unknown projectiles within minutes of each other while travelling outbound through the Strait of Hormuz late on Monday, according to shipping intelligence and tracking firms.
Following the reports, Brent crude futures, which were already up about two percent, jumped by almost another two percent.
Iran has also threatened to prevent oil exports from the Gulf if the US continues its attacks. “If the enemy wants us not to export oil from the Persian Gulf, no one will be able to export oil,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf was quoted as saying by Iranian media.
The renewed confrontation has heightened fears that the six-month-old conflict could escalate into a wider war and threaten crude supplies from the oil-rich Gulf region.
The conflict had previously shifted towards sanctions, blockades and economic pressure, but the latest exchange of attacks has raised concerns about a return to sustained military confrontation.
US President Donald Trump warned Iran that it would face a stronger response if it retaliated against the latest American strikes.The US strikes came after Iranian missiles were fired at two US air bases in Jordan in response to an earlier American attack on Iran’s Larak Island.
The latest escalation also coincided with plans by Washington to impose additional economic sanctions on Tehran. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said bank sanctions against Iran were likely to be announced this week and next, while warning that Washington would also target other entities doing business with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has said that 172 Host Communities Development Trusts (HCDTs) have so far been incorporated by oil and gas companies operating across the country.
The chief executive, NUPRC, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this while addressing the leadership of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) in Abuja.
Under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), oil and gas companies, referred to as settlors, are required to contribute three percent of their Operating Expenditure from the preceding financial year into a Host Communities Trust Fund for the benefit of communities where they operate.
Eyesan said the NUPRC had been enforcing the provisions of the Act, particularly those relating to host communities and the obligations of operating companies, and had put in place regulations and procedures to streamline the process.
“We have laid out procedures for doing things and we have put regulations in place to streamline the process. So far, we have registered 172 HCDTs and we have been able to manage contributions by settlors,” she said.
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She said the trusts had funded the construction of schools, hospitals and other infrastructure, and had contributed significantly to peace and stability in previously volatile communities, which in turn had led to an increase in oil production.
Eyesan, however, admitted that some of the HCDTs had become subjects of litigation over disagreements on the constitution of their Boards of Trustees. She said the Commission had been working to ensure the trusts run smoothly, and that its Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre had played a key role in addressing some of the grievances.
She said that while the RMAFC’s interest in host communities was appreciated, oversight of how the funds are managed remained the exclusive preserve of the NUPRC.
The NUPRC boss also promised to investigate the lingering disagreement between Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company (SEEPCO) and its host community in Anambra State.
Responding, the chairman of the RMAFC, Dr Mohammed Bello Shehu, commended the NUPRC for overseeing reforms in the oil and gas sector that had contributed to growth in production.
Shehu said the RMAFC regards the upstream oil and gas sector as important, given that it accounts for a large share of revenue accruing to the Federation Account.
He thanked the NUPRC leadership for honouring the RMAFC’s invitation and called for stronger collaboration between the two institutions in the interest of the country.
Data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) shows that crude oil imports by domestic refineries rose by 151.5 percent to 5.13 million barrels in July 2026, from 2.04 million barrels in June.
In a related development, domestic crude supply to refineries fell sharply during the month.
According to the NMDPRA’s July 2026 Midstream and Downstream Statistics, local refineries received a total of 17.88 million barrels of crude in July, comprising 12.75 million barrels supplied domestically and 5.13 million barrels imported.
Imported crude therefore accounted for 28.7 percent of total crude receipts by domestic refineries in July, while domestic supplies contributed the remaining 71.3 percent.
The 5.13 million barrels imported in July represented a significant rebound from the 2.04 million barrels recorded in June. It was also higher than the 2.08 million barrels imported in May and 0.41 million barrels in April.
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However, July’s import volume remained below the 9.43 million barrels recorded in March, the highest monthly volume so far in 2026.
The data showed that crude imports stood at 0.71 million barrels in January before rising to 4.25 million barrels in February and peaking at 9.43 million barrels in March.
Imports subsequently plunged to 0.41 million barrels in April, before recovering to 2.08 million barrels in May, 2.04 million barrels in June and 5.13 million barrels in July.
The report also disclosed that domestic crude supply to refineries declined by 25.4 percent month-on-month, falling from 17.08 million barrels in June to 12.75 million barrels in July.
In January, domestic refineries received 8.83 million barrels of domestic crude and 0.71 million barrels of imported crude, bringing total receipts to 9.54 million barrels.
The figure rose to 13.13 million barrels in February, comprising 8.88 million barrels of domestic crude and 4.25 million barrels of imports.
March recorded the highest total crude receipts at 20.92 million barrels, with domestic supply contributing 11.49 million barrels and imports 9.43 million barrels.
Total receipts stood at 18.37 million barrels in April, made up of 17.96 million barrels of domestic crude and 0.41 million barrels of imports.
In May, refineries received 17.92 million barrels, comprising 15.84 million barrels of domestic crude and 2.08 million barrels of imports, while June recorded 19.12 million barrels, made up of 17.08 million barrels of domestic crude and 2.04 million barrels of imports.
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