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Stakeholders Hail NCDMB As Local Content Level Hits 56%
The Nigerian Content performance level in the oil and gas industry has hit 56 percent in 2024, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe announced on Tuesday.
He made the revelation at the 13th Practical Nigerian Content (PNC) Conference and Exhibition holding at the NCDMB Conference Centre, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The event was graced by top government officials including the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo.
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Other industry leaders in attendance included the Chairperson, Senate Committee on Local Content, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, chairperson, House of Representatives Committee on Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring, Hon. Boma Goodhead, the Secretary General of the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO), Dr. Umar Farouk Ibrahim and chief executives of international and indigenous oil and gas companies and operating and regulatory agencies in the petroleum sector.
The Nigerian Content performance level is calculated on year-on-year basis by the Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate of the NCDMB and is anchored on the ongoing projects in the upstream, midstream and downstream segments of the oil and gas industry.
Data is aggregated from total amounts expended on projects and the Nigerian Content component of the annual spend. The data is mined from statutory reports submitted by companies and the integrity those data is verified during Nigerian Content performance reviews and workshops and they must sync with the Nigerian Content Compliance Certificates (NCCC) on projects approved by the Board.
The Nigerian Content level stood at 54 percent as at December 2022 and 2023, increasing significantly from 26 percent in 2016 before the introduction of the Nigerian Content 10-year strategic roadmap. The latest increase marks a significant milestone in the Board’s march toward 70 percent Nigerian Content by 2027 as set out in its 10-Year Strategic Road Map (2017-2027).
The NCDMB boss also revealed that 312 Nigerian Content Plans have thus far been approved by the Board and that 402 Nigerian Content Compliance Certificates (NCCCs) were issued. Also, that the new Project Certification and Authorisation Directorate (PCAD) guidelines has reduced the Board’s touchpoints from nine to five, and the contracting cycle cut to six months, he confirmed.
Engr. Ogbe and a representative of the Bank of Industry (BoI) used the PNC Forum to sign an agreement on the Revised Nigerian Content Community Contractors Financing Scheme. The Fund addresses a critical challenge faced by local contractors in accessing much-needed funds for contracts awarded by oil and gas companies.
Under the new product paper for the fund, N15 billion has been earmarked for the fund and “the single obligor limit has been increased from N20 million to N100 million,” Ogbe hinted.
On the Nigerian Content Academy recently established by the Board for training to prepare Nigerians through a range of courses that cover every aspect of the oil and gas industry, from upstream exploration to downstream processing, he said new career paths and economic opportunities are being opened for local communities. The Academy was unveiled by the Ministers as part of activities marking the Forum.
The Executive Secretary gave insight into the Back-to-the-Creeks Initiative which focuses on taking Nigerian Content benefits to local communities, especially developing basic educational facilities in communities and equipping youths in host communities with the skills needed to meet industry demands, and thus directly supporting the local content drive.
In his address, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, commended NCDMB for systematically aligning its local content policy initiatives with Federal Government’s gas development agenda.
The Minister listed the NCDMB’s support for compressed natural gas (CNG) projects, modular gas processing plants, manufacturing plants for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders, LPG depots, LPG terminals, LPG storage and bottling plants, gas gathering facilities, smart gas and detector alarm services, as critically important areas where the Board’s strategic intervention has made huge gains for the country.
He disclosed that “in the last 12 months, two critical gas projects were completed,” namely, SEPLAT Assa North and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) Ohaji South, with a combined capacity of 600 million standard cubic feet/day. Also, the 300 MMscfd Kwale Gas Gathering (KGG) Hub and Injection Facility, jointly executed by Xenergy Limited and the NCDMB, were commissioned within the same period.
While reiterating that “gas will be the mainstay of Nigeria’s energy shift” as the world transits to renewables, he stated that Government is “giving local businesses a chance to engage in gas distribution, processing, and power generation.”
With specific reference to the PNC Forum, he said the theme “Defining the Next Frontier for Nigerian Content Implementation” is “a call to action and a reaffirmation of Nigeria’s commitment to leveraging our local capabilities to drive energy security, economic growth, and environment sustainability.”
He charged the organisers of the Forum, namely, NCDMB and DMG Events Limited, to ensure that the event functions as “a spur for practical ideas that move our country closer to a promising and sustainable energy future.”
Also speaking at the event, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, commended the NCDMB for organising the Forum and for significant milestones recorded thus far since its establishment in 2010.
He revealed that wherever he has been across Africa for oil and gas-related events, other countries want to come to Nigeria to learn from its local content success story.
On divestments by international oil and gas companies (IOCs) in the country, he said there is no reason to be alarmed as indigenous operating companies have adequately filled the gaps and thus significantly increased the country’s stake in the industry.
He said that the affected IOCs have not left the country but simply moved their investments and operations from onshore to deep offshore.
The Minister urged industry players to be strategic in their thinking, noting that “quality, standards and capacity developed have to be sustained” if the country is to be able to sustain the gains made so far.
With regard to strategies to deal with the decline in funding of oil and gas projects in Africa, in the wake of the global de-emphasis of fossil fuels, the Secretary General of the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO), Dr. Umar Farouk Ibrahim, said the Africa Energy Bank (AEB) would be taking off in the second quarter of 2025, with the signing and ratification of the Establishment Agreement by the required number of countries.
Its headquarters is to be located in Abuja.
In his remarks, the Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, commended the NCDMB and industry stakeholders for putting together the event, and for the collaboration that has yielded remarkable developments in the petroleum industry.
He, however, reminded the industry captains that Bayelsa State accounts for about 60 percent of the gas feedstock for the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Project, Bonny, which has now progressed to Train 7, and thus deserves to have a train built within its territory.
In the Organiser’s Welcome Address, Wemimo Oyelana, Country Director (Nigeria) and Portfolio Director (Africa), DMG Nigeria Limited, said the theme of the Forum was “designed to spark forward-looking and transformative discussions,” and that “As the Nigerian energy sector continues to evolve, it is critical to address the next steps in advancing Nigerian Content.”
Other speakers included the Chairperson, Senate Committee on Local Content, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, her counterpart in the House of Representatives, Hon. Boma Goodhead, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, and his Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr Farouk Ahmed.
The PNC continues on Wednesday at the Nigerian Content Tower, Yenagoa and ends on Thursday with a visit to First Marine and Engineering Services Limited base in Swali, Yenagoa.
An early-morning fire has ravaged Eda Plaza, a building materials market opposite Chida Hotel in Jabi, Abuja, destroying shops and goods reportedly worth millions of naira.
The inferno broke out around 3am on Sunday, leaving traders counting their losses after the fire spread through parts of the plaza.
An eyewitness told the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) that the alarm was raised after his brother-in-law, who owns two shops and a packing store at the plaza, received a distress call from a colleague informing him that the market was on fire.
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“We were at home this morning, as early as 3 am, and my brother-in-law received a call from one of his colleagues here in the plaza that the plaza was on fire. So we had to rush down there. On getting here, we discovered that the situation was so bad,” the eyewitness said.
According to him, only one of his brother-in-law’s two shops survived the inferno, while the other shop and the packing store were completely destroyed.
“In this plaza, my brother-in-law had two shops and a packing store. Unfortunately, only one of the shops was saved. The other shop and the packing store were totally damaged by the fire,” he added.
The eyewitness estimated the value of roofing materials lost in the blaze at more than N20 million, revealing that some of the affected materials had been restocked just hours before the fire.
“Over here, you see some of the roofs that we still have here. We are talking about a roof that is worth over N20 million lost in this fire,” he said.
He further lamented that some of the roofing materials had only been restocked the previous night.
“Because the other shop, we had roofs that were just restocked last night. And then the packing store also, we had roofs that were just restocked last night,” he said.
Confirming the incident, the National Public Relations Officer and Head of Corporate Services of the Federal Fire Service, Deputy Controller of Fire Paul Abraham, said a distress call about the Eda Plaza fire was received at 2:46am.
Abraham said the Federal Fire Service, in collaboration with the Federal Capital Territory Fire Service, deployed firefighting appliances from its Wuse, Interior Ministry and Garki stations to battle the inferno.
He disclosed that a stop message was issued at 10:14am, indicating that the fire had been brought under control.
The Federal Fire Service spokesman added that investigations were ongoing to determine the remote and immediate causes of the fire.
Despite the extent of the destruction and the financial losses recorded, no casualty was reported.
The eyewitness expressed gratitude that the incident did not claim any life.
“In our situation, we give thanks to God that no life was lost in this situation,” he said.
The quest for increased oil production from the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 42 has seen the Nestoil Group deploy its Pathfinder 500 rig to carry out workover operations on two producing wells.
The deployment, carried out through the Group’s strategic business unit, Scorpio Drilling International, marks the first productive assignment of the Pathfinder 500 since its acquisition about eight years ago.
The Pathfinder 500 is one of two rigs acquired by the Nestoil Group as part of a combined investment of approximately $28 million. The second rig is the Scorpio 300.
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According to a statement issued by the Group over the weekend, the Pathfinder 500 was successfully mobilised to the OML 42 site, where it completed workover operations on the two wells without any Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) incidents before being safely demobilised to base.
The statement added that the successful operation also contributed to incremental oil production from OML 42 and is expected to support the Group’s planned in-field drilling programme.
Chairman of Nestoil/Neconde Group, Dr. Ernest Obiejesi, described the development as a defining moment for the Group and Nigeria’s indigenous drilling capacity.
Obiejesi said the rig had remained idle for eight years amid doubts that it would ever be deployed for productive operations, making its successful mobilisation, incident-free workover campaign and safe demobilisation a significant achievement.
He explained that the decision to invest in the Pathfinder 500 and Scorpio 300 was driven by the need to reduce dependence on hired rigs, which could be difficult and costly to secure within Nigeria’s operating environment.
According to him, as an asset owner in OML 42, the Group requires reliable in-house drilling capacity to undertake workovers, revive mature wells and ultimately drill new wells as the field develops.
He said the successful deployment of the Pathfinder 500 now positions the Group to proceed with its planned in-field drilling programme.
Obiejesi further disclosed that the project, from rig refurbishment to crewing, was executed entirely by Nigerian personnel without foreign partnership or support.
He noted that the rig is currently operated by a 100 percent Nigerian crew, attributing the development to decades of capacity building by international oil companies operating in Nigeria.
The Nestoil chairman said the experience had helped position Nigeria as a net exporter of skilled drilling personnel to other oil-producing countries.
He commended the teams at Scorpio Drilling International and others involved in the rehabilitation and operation of the rig.
Obiejesi also said the achievement extends beyond Nestoil Group, noting that Scorpio Drilling International now has two operating rigs and is among companies with rig assets in Nigeria.
“Nestoil Group, through Neconde Energy, holds interests in OML 42 and continues to invest in indigenous drilling, workover and well-services infrastructure to sustain and increase oil production from the asset.
“Scorpio Drilling International operates the Pathfinder 500 and Scorpio 300 rigs and provides drilling services to the Group and third parties across Nigeria’s oil and gas industry,” the statement added.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu expresses deep sadness over the sudden death of Mr Dotun Oladipo, former Political Editor of The Punch newspaper and Publisher of The Eagle Online, describing his death as a painful loss to Nigeria’s media industry and the nation at large.
President Tinubu acknowledges the deceased’s contributions to journalism, particularly his years of dedicated service in political reporting and his commitment to providing Nigerians with credible information through both traditional and digital media platforms.
The President says Oladipo’s professional career reflected the important role journalists play in strengthening democracy by informing citizens, holding public officials accountable and providing platforms for robust public discourse.
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He recalls the deceased’s passion for his profession and his contributions to the growth of digital journalism through The Eagle Online, which he founded after his remarkable career at Punch Newspaper.
“Dotun Oladipo’s death at the age of 56 is a painful loss to the Nigerian media community and to our nation. He was a committed journalist who devoted significant years of his life to informing the public and contributing to the development of our democracy.
“His contributions to political journalism and the digital media space will not be forgotten. I extend my heartfelt condolences to his family, colleagues in GOCOP and friends. I pray that Almighty God will grant him eternal rest and give his loved ones the strength to bear this irreparable loss,” President Tinubu notes.
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