Nigerian Content Attracts $2bn Investment in Oil and Gas Sector

• Nwapa seeks linkages to other economic sectors
Ejiofor Alike
The new Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr. Simbi Wabote, has said the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act of 2010 has attracted investment commitments worth $2 billion.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja at the sixth edition of the Practical Nigerian Content Conference, Wabote said before the Act was enacted, equipment, component parts, spare parts, personnel were shipped from abroad into the country.

Also speaking at the conference, which has ‘Re-energising Nigerian Content Initiatives for Today’s Oil and Gas Market,’ as the theme, the pioneer Executive Secretary of NCDMB and President of Global Local Content Council (GLCC), Mr. Ernest Nwapa, said one of the ways to reinvigorate Nigeria’s oil and gas industry was to link the industry with the Nigerian economy.

Wabote, who spoke on ‘Promoting Investment and In-country Value Addition through Nigerian Content,’ said since the legislation came into effect, the oil and gas industry has recorded significant Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in pipe mill and growth in Nigeria- owned marine vessels.
Wabote said the major focus of the Nigerian Content Law was not “Nigerianisation” of the oil and gas sector, but rather “domiciliation” of value-adding activities.

He identified investment opportunities in the sector to include: fabrication and construction; manufacturing of component parts, equipment, spare parts, accessories,  drilling fluid, Sub-sea production systems, line pipes, and personal protective equipment (PPE).

Others include: design engineering; project management; shipping and logistics; rigs and marine vessels – financing, and lease to own; installations of facilities; inauguration of plants and equipment; maintenance of facilities, equipment; services – finance, legal, insurance, and testing, training.

Wabote also identified the Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO) integration yard being constructed in LADOL yard in Lagos for the integration of the Total’s Egina FPSO as one of the landmark projects that would come on stream between 2017 and 2019.
Other projects slated for the same period, according to Wabote, include manufacturing of LPG gas cylinders in-country and the establishment of oil and gas parks in five locations across the country to create 15,000 jobs.

To stimulate investment and in-country value-addition, Wabote said the NCDMB had intervened directly in the establishment of manufacturing hub for equipment, component part, spare parts, PPEs and Chemicals, as well as provision of funding support to prospective investors to establish Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinder manufacturing plants.

He said apart from supporting third party pipe mill investors, the agency had also intervened in the establishment of a 150,000 MT per annum capacity pipe mill for manufacturing line pipes and had also provided $100million Nigerian content intervention fund to support manufacturers.

Nwapa stated that Nigeria has the potential to leverage its mineral and hydrocarbon
resources for industrial development, adding that local content policies across all sectors will facilitate job creation and stimulate local industrial development.

“National Content should remain a priority in the oil and gas industry, at the minimum, to ensure that significant gains made by the NOGICD Act of 2010 are not reversed. The momentum from increased indigenous asset ownership, in-country fabrication and manufacturing capabilities and human capital development can be strengthened for the oil and gas industry, and the Nigerian economy, by extending its benefits to other sectors.

Broadening the agenda will simultaneously propel the practice of patronising Nigerian goods and services such that promoting “Made in Nigeria” can become a national patriotic culture in a few short years. Industry collaborations linking the oil and gas industry to the rest of the Nigerian economy will help share strategies to improving job creation, training opportunities, domiciliation of capacity, technology and services, and the development/upgrade of critical facilities and infrastructure,” Nwapa explained.