The executive secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote has confirmed that the local content in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry has grown to 42%, up from the 6% level before the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.
He also informed that the implementation of the Act has created over 50,000 direct jobs in the local economy over the past 11 years.
Addressing media parley in Lagos last weekend, Wabote explained that before his arrival as the chief executive of the Board, as well as the enactment of the NOGICD Act in 2010, the level of Nigerian content in the oil industry hovered around 5%.
According to the NCMDB boss, the focused implementation of the Nigerian Content Law resulted in an increase to 26% in 2016 and 42% as at December 2021.
He informed that the Nigerian content 10-Year Strategic Roadmap 2017 has 70% as achievement target for Nigerian content by 2027. As part of this goal, the Board would catalyze the creation of 300, 000 direct jobs in the oil and gas industry and linkage sectors, enable the retention of $13billion out of the estimated annual $20billion spent in the oil and gas industry and establishment of major fabrication yards and manufacturing hubs in-country.
He said additionally, today Nigeria is able to retain more than $8billion from the annual spend of $20billion before the NOGID Act 2010.
“This is a pointer to the marked achievements of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board. The improvement is because of the development of critical capacities and assets by local oil and gas service companies and increased domiciliation and domestication of industry operations,” he said.
The NCDMB boss also stated that Nigeria has also moved from near zero participation in the operations side of the oil and gas sector to the point that indigenous firms such as SEPLAT, AITEO, EROTON, and others “are now responsible for 15% of our oil production and 60% of our domestic gas supply.”
NCMDB has also established two world-class pipe mills and five impressive pipe coating yards; the ability of Nigerian firms to fabricate more than 250,000 tons of steel per year and; ownership of more than 40% of marine vessels used in the oil and gas industry by Nigerians.
The ES further said over 10 million training man-hours have been delivered via the Board’s Human Capacity Development Programs. “It was no surprise that our indigenous workforce was able to sustain oil production at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.”
NCDMB had inaugurated a $50million Nigerian Content Research & Development Fund to drive basic research, commercialization of research breakthroughs, establishment of research centers of excellence, and to sponsor university endowments.
“The Board floated a $50million special loan product for women in the oil and gas business to enable empowerment of the womenfolk in the industry and established another $30million Working Capital Fund to support oil and gas service companies. Both the Women and Working Capital funds are managed by Nexim (Nigerian Export-Import) Bank,” Wabote said.
Furthermore, the NCDMB setting up a $50million fund for NOGAPS Manufacturing Product Line, to be dedicated to companies that would operate in the Nigerian oil and gas parks, which the board is constructing in Bayelsa and Cross River States.
Beneficiaries of the NOGAPS fund would have to be engaged in the manufacturing of equipment components used in the oil and gas industry and linkage sectors.
He charged media practitioners to uphold the ethics of their professionalism, noting that Nigerians depend on the media for their news and information, hence practitioners must strive to retain their audience’s trust and not fall for the temptation of propagating fake news and carrying out unwarranted attacks on innocent Nigerians.
He regretted that some online media platforms were undermining the federal government’s noble intentions of bringing in technocrats and professionals to serve as appointees through targeted and unwarranted attacks under the cloak of investigative journalism and challenged the publishers and editors to condemn and weed out the bad eggs in their profession, and our society generally.
By Chibisi Ohakah, Abuja
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