Energy
NCDMB, NLNG to deepen partnership on projects, LPG penetration
By John Mommoh
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas Limited will set up a tactical team comprising nominees from both organizations to drive closer collaboration on projects, ensure compliance with Nigerian Content obligations and promote other strategic alliances for the good of the nation’s economy.
L-R: Director Finance & Personnel Management, NCDMB, Mr. Isaac Yalah; Director Monitoring & Evaluation, Mr. Akintunde Adelana; Deputy Managing Director Nigeria LNG, Mr. Olalekan Olufemi Ogunleye; Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote; Managing Director, Nigeria LNG Ltd, Dr. Philip Mshelbila and General Manager, External Relations & Sustainable Development, Mr. Andy Odeh at the courtesy visit of the Nigeria LNG management to the Nigerian Content Tower, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
This decision was reached on Wednesday when the Managing Director of Nigeria LNG Ltd, Dr. Philip Mshelbila led his management team to pay a courtesy visit to the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote at the Nigerian Content Tower, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The Managing Director explained that the visit was conceived to introduce the company’s new management team to the NCDMB.
He stated that “NLNG and NCDMB have a special partnership that is beyond operator and regulator relationship. We started this relationship when we signed a Service Level Agreement (SLA) a few years ago and it put in place standards by which we would work together and ensure compliance and guard against surprises.”
He said the current plan is to take the relationship further and beyond complying with the provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.
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He said the reason is that “NLNG has a vision not just to be a globally competitive NLNG business, but to help build a better Nigeria.
To do that we have to work closely with the NCDMB and raise our partnership to a new level, and that includes human development, research, and other areas.”
Speaking on the ongoing Train 7 LNG project, Mshelbila recalled how NCDMB supported the Nigeria LNG in various ways to enable the takeoff of the project.
He said: “The Final Investment Decision (FID) was taken successfully with the help of NCDMB and the project is now under construction, making good and safe progress.
We are looking at potentially 5000 to 10,000 persons being employed in different phases of the project. We already have thousands working on the ground. It is employing various contractors across different areas.
This is a true example of how local content should be.”
The Executive Secretary in his remarks commended Nigeria LNG for its impressive compliance with the provisions of the Nigerian Content Act, adding that the Board has continually fulfilled its obligations on the Service Level Agreement.
He expressed delight with the progress being made with the execution of the LNG Train 7 project, noting that it had reached about 30 percent completion.
He also stated that the worth of the Train 7 project is about $5bn, which represents a huge foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Nigerian economy.
Other economic benefits include the creation of 10,000 direct jobs and about 40,000 indirect employment opportunities.
He added: “There are also upstream projects that are currently being approved that will supply gas to Train 7. Those upstream projects will lead to an additional $6m foreign direct investment into the country.
This will create employment opportunities, touch the lives of families, raise the profile of the country as a major LNG LNG producer and increase our domestic LPG (cooking gas) production.
Train 7 is already providing a lot of jobs for Nigerian contractors, fabricators, logistics companies, and more. The benefits are enormous.”
He assured that the Board will continue to collaborate closely with Nigeria LNG, especially to ensure deeper LPG (cooking gas) penetration into the Nigerian market, hinting that NCDMB had partnered with several investors towards improving the accessibility of LPG.
Wabote also encouraged Nigeria LNG to consider further investments, highlighting that Qatar already had 14 LNG trains.
He said Nigeria needed to grow its LNG capacities, especially with the world’s clamour for energy transition and Federal Government’s declaration that gas is Nigeria’s transition fuel.
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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