Gas
Nigeria reaches 42% Nigerian Content as Oil Industry spends $20.4bn on Fabrication, Engineering
Precious ADELOLA
YENAGOA-THE Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry spent approximately $20.4billion between 2016 and 2020, particularly in key areas such as Engineering, Procurement, Fabrication, Project Management, and Services.
Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote revealed this at the opening of the 10th Practical Nigerian Content Conference held at the Nigerian Content Tower in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State from 29th November -2nd December, with the theme “Driving Nigerian Content in the New Dawn of the Petroleum Industry Act (PAI)”.
He hinted that the aggregate industry spend was captured from the projects covered by the Board’sMonitoring and Evaluation Directorate.
The computation was part of a Checkpoint Review of the implementation of the Nigerian Content 10-Years Strategic Roadmap, to analyse the journey to 70 percent Nigerian Content and determine the level of the various initiatives introduced by the Board.
According to him, the top industry spend are $8.07bn on Fabrication representing 39 percent of spend; $4.74bn on Engineering services representing 23 percent of spend, and $5.67bn on Procurement of manufactured materials, representing 28 percent of spend.
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He listed the low spend areas to include $1.18bn on Services representing 6 percent of spend and $746m on project management representing 4 percent of spend, adding that the aggregated level of Nigerian Content across the five categories is 42 percent.
Noting the Nigerian Content performance in Engineering is above the 70 percent target, Wabote said areas for focus included fabrication and procurement of materials if the industry is to realise the 70 percent target by 2027.
He said: “That is why we are keen to ensure that the established in-country fabrication yards are utilized for sanctioned projects such as NLNG Train-7 as well as drive local manufacturing of goods such as chemicals, hardwares, spares, accessories, and other consumables via our commercial venture partnerships and our oil and gas industrial parks. Overall, we believe we are on track towards the 70 percent Nigerian Content target but we will need the support of all industry stakeholders to make it happen.”
Giving insight into the Board’s focus for 2022, the Executive Secretary said the Oil and Gas parks in Cross River and Bayelsa states would be commissioned in the 4th quarter of 2022. He emphasised that the provision of reliable power generation and distribution was one of the key requirements to commence operations at the park.
To guarantee this, the Board signed an arrangement at the 2nd day of the PNC with the Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria (GACN) and INFINI Power Limited for provision of reliable power to the two industrial parks.
He listed other plans of the Board for 2022 to include the completion of the engineering design of Brass Island Shipyard and commencement of roadshows to secure investment partners. Other scheduled programmes include the commissioning the 2,000 barrels per day Atlantic Modular Refinery in Brass and commissioning the 400,000 per year Rungas LPG composite cylinder manufacturing plant in Polaku, Bayelsa State.
He said the Board also plans to commission the 48,000 litres per day Base Oil production plant located in Omagwa Rivers State and commission the 30MMscf Nedo gas processing plant and the 300 MMscfd gas hub tied to the OB-3 pipeline in Kwale, Delta State as well as progress the Human Capacity Development interventions in institutions of learning, vocational centers, ICT centers in secondary schools and others.
Speaking further, the Executive Secretary announced that the Board has acquired land for the construction of 200-room NCDMB Conference Hostel accommodation in Yenagoa for delegates and guests to the various conferences hosted by the Board. He noted that the calendar of conferences hosted by NCDMB is getting busy with events, especially with the opening of the Bayelsa State Airport. He said: “it is only logical that we put in place a decent Conference Hostel to further enrich the experience of our conference participants.”
On the area of funding, Wabote stated that the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund has been expanded the from $200million to $400million, with $350 million from NCDMB and $50million from NEXIM Bank. “Additional products for working capital and loans for Women in oil and gas were also introduced. NEXIM Bank has completed processing of the loan approval for the first set of beneficiaries of the funds under their management.”
He also announced that the Board intends to implement modalities to extend the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund to the manufacturing sector in year 2022.
In furtherance of the Board’s intent of commercializing Research findings, the Executive Secretary confirmed the approval of the partnership with Amal Technologies for the setting up a state-of-the-art factory to produce hardware, embedded systems, and other technological devices in Nigeria, the first fully commercially printed circuit board manufacturer in Sub-Saharan Africa.
He later signed the shareholders agreements on behalf of the Board with the Managing Director of Amal Technologies for the unique partnership in Research and Development.
He explained that the “plant will produce Smart Gas/Smoke Detector Alarm devices that monitors and detects smoke and all types of gas leakages (especially LPG), calls the user’s mobile phone if the intensity of the gas is getting high and automatically shut off the valve of the gas cylinder using Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence technology. The facility, also has the capacity to produce more than two million Advanced Smart Electric Meters in Nigeria, to support the Federal Government’s initiatives towards the national mass metering program thus bridging the gap in local production of electric meters,” he added.
In his address, the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva noted that the signing of the Petroleum Industry Act would enable rapid development of projects in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. He stressed that new projects were needed in the industry to increase the nation’s production volume, grow national revenues, engage the local supply chain, create more employment for Nigerians and promote national security.
He also hinted that the recent conclusion of bid rounds for marginal fields was part of Federal Government’s determination to reinvigorate the Local Content in the production side of the business and open a basket of opportunities for local capacities across the industry value chain.
The Minister who was represented by the Director Human Resources, Dr. Famous Eseduwo charged NCDMB to continue on their upward trajectory, focused on the implementation of the Nigerian Content 10-Year Strategic Roadmap to grow Nigerian Content to the targeted level.
Announces ambitious expansion plans
Platform Petroleum says the company is targeting a billion-dollar investment as it announces an ambitious strategic plan to bring 3 marginal fields into production by 2025, with a target of 10,000 barrels of oil and at least 50 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 2024 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, USA, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, Chairman of Platform Petroleum said that the company has scheduled a roadshow in London this June 2024 to raise extra funding to finance their ambitious expansion plans.
“The upcoming roadshow aims to attract equity partners and prepare for future opportunities, targeting a billion-dollar investment. We are seeking partners ready to invest in Nigeria’s oil and gas potential.
Our goal is to showcase the country’s vast opportunities and its potential to international investors” Lulu-Briggs said.
Platform Petroleum’s roadshow in London will highlight the company’s efficient production, upgraded flow stations, increased capacity, and achievements in nearly zero emissions.
With about one percent gas flare currently, Platform aims for zero gas flares by the last quarter.
“Nigeria is a vast market, and Platform Petroleum is thinking big. With the government’s ambitious plans, such as the Lagos-Calabar coastal line, Platform is poised for growth; pushing itself to the next level, building on a strong foundation and following Seplat’s successful precedent”, Lulu-Briggs said.
Despite being a small company, he emphasized that Platform Petroleum has demonstrated significant success and efficiency, showcasing that smaller oil and gas entities can indeed achieve remarkable feats adding that he believes that the company deserves recognition and more assets.
“Platform Petroleum is ambitious, aspiring to become a tier-1 company akin to international oil companies (IOCs) or a tier-2 company like Seplat. Interestingly, Seplat originated from Maurel & Prom, Shebah Petroleum, and Platform Petroleum, and today stands as a major player in the industry.
This history underlines Platform’s potential for substantial growth”, Lulu-Briggs said.
Furthermore, the Platform Petroleum Chairman said that the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) is a crucial event for promoting Nigeria’s significant market potential.
“Partnering with the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) at OTC is key to attracting investment. The current proactive government understands the necessity for economic growth, and Platform is prepared to leverage every opportunity in the oil and gas industry to contribute to this expansion”, he concluded.
Precious ADELOLA
The NNPC/Aiteo Joint venture has announced the introduction of Nembe Crude Oil Grade, a new crude oil grade into the international crude oil market.
The announcement of the Nembe Crude Oil Blend, produced by Aiteo, the Operator of the NNPC/Aiteo Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 Joint Venture (JV), was made at the ongoing Argus European Crude Conference in London, on Tuesday.
OML 29, an asset located onshore Nigeria, is operated by Aiteo Eastern Exploration & Production Ltd, Africa’s leading indigenous hydrocarbon producer, following a historic acquisition from Shell in 2014.
NNPCL Boss, Engr. Mele Kyari
The Nembe Crude was previously blended with the popular Bonny Light grade and exported via the Bonny Oil & Gas Terminal.
The unique selling point of the Nembe Crude Oil grade with an API gravity was highlighted by both the Aiteo E & P and NNPC Limited Leadership at the Argus Conference in London.
The Nembe Crude Oil grade also has a low sulphur content and low carbon footprint due to flare gas elimination, fitting perfectly into the required spec of major buyers in Europe.
Two cargoes of 950,000 barrels each of the Nembe Crude Oil grade have since been exported to France and the Netherlands. With its attractive Assay of API 29 and low sulphur content, the Nembe Crude Oil grade commands a premium to the global Brent benchmark.
With the NNPC-Aiteo OML 29 JV back on-stream, Nigeria now boasts of an additional crude oil export of 2 Cargoes at 950,000 barrels each per month and 1.2 Bcf of export gas monthly.
This remarkable achievement signals the commencement of activities at Nigeria’s newest crude oil terminal, the Nembe Crude Oil Export Terminal (NCOET), which was licensed in line with the extant laws and Crude Oil Terminal establishment regulations.
The terminal was conceived as a Floating Storage and Offloading Vessel (FSO) with a storage capacity of two (2) Million Barrels and the ability to offload crude oil to any export tanker from AFRAMAX to Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC).
It has a loading capacity of 25,000 barrels per hour and will be exporting over 3.6 million barrels of Crude oil monthly at full scale of operation.
Currently, hydrocarbon production from OML 29, which was hitherto constrained due to evacuation challenges owing to the security issues around the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) corridor, has now been resolved through a collaborative and creative approach that led to the innovation of the Alternative Crude Oil Evacuation Solution.
The Argus European Crude Conference 2023 in London is a gathering of energy majors, refiners, NOCs, traders, financial institutions, and other representatives from across the global oil markets. The event also provides a critical opportunity for business leaders to connect, discuss, share and learn from one another.
Modupe Asudo
Major players in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria led by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) have covenanted to optimise operations by reducing contracting cycle to not more than 180 days.
A statement issued by the company disclosed that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect was endorced on Monday in Abuja at the company’s head office.
Other parties to the the contract include, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, (NCDMB) and international oil companies.
Biztellers reports that an optimised contracting cycle was expected to improve the ease of doing business, reduce cost and drive efficiency, which would eventually translate to production growth, increased revenues, and ultimately improved profitability.
In addition, the MoU was expected to contribute significantly to the double-digit economic growth rate agenda of the Federal Government and generate value for all stakeholders, including investors, companies, host communities and Nigeria.
Notable elements in the framework of the MoU, going by the statement, included a reduction of the contracting cycle for open competitive tender, selective tender, and single sourcing tender to 180, 178, and 128 working days respectively.
This was in contrast with the current best effort performance of 327, 333, and 185 working days respectively.
According to Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPCL, Mele Kyari, signing the agreement portends exciting times for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, in addition to standing as a bold testimony that the company was plunging into the future of hope, productivity and success.
Kyari, represented at the occasion by Executive Vice President, Upstream, NNPCL, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, pointed out that with oil and gas as the bedrock of Nigeria’s economy, there was need to get the contracting process in the Industry right so as to get the economy back on track.
In his remarks, Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Simbi Wabote, described the MoU as a way forward and a critical step towards enhancing the nation’s crude oil production.
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