The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has completed 83 per cent of the 96 initiatives in the implementation of the 10-year strategic roadmap that was launched in 2017 to increase Nigerian content in the oil and gas industry to 70 per cent by the year 2027.
NCDMB’s Executive Secretary, Simbi Wabote, stated this while delivering a keynote address on Tuesday during the opening ceremony of the ongoing 12th Practical Nigerian Conference at the Nigerian Content Towers in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, with the theme, “Deepening Nigerian Content Amidst Divestments, Domestication and Decarbonisation”.
Wabote recalled that the agency rolled out five pillars and four enablers to drive the focus areas under the roadmap, each supported with short, medium and long term initiatives.
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While giving insight into the agency’s achievements in the implementation of the roadmap, he said, “We have completed 83% of the 96 initiatives under the strategic roadmap with focus now shifting to the remaining initiatives that require some heavy lifting to bring into fruition.
“Under the roadmap, the technical operations data in NOGIC-JQS shows that the number of registered industry operators moved from fifty-three (53) in 2018 to one hundred and fourteen (114) in 2023 representing about 100% increase. Within the same period, service companies increased from 8,000 to 11,000 while individual registrations increased from 149,000 to almost 400,000.
“Certification of NC Plans increased from 178 in 2022 to 255 in 2023 while the approved NC Compliance Certificates dropped from 197 in 2022 to 168 in 2023.
“We believe the higher certified NC Plans in 2023 will soon translate to approved contracts with NC Compliance Certificates as the industry get accustomed to the policy directions of the new government.”
Wabote said further that a total of 889 expatriate quotas were approved in 2022 while 179 EQs were rejected, adding that the expatriate quota approval is trending down in the last five years.
The NCDMB boss said, “This year, a total of 1,156 EQs were approved at the end of November compared to 889 approved in 2022. 328 EQs were approved, 179 rejected last year. The expatriate quota approval has been trending down from up till 2021 when it started an upward trending largely attributed to the post-COVID-19 business recovery, newly sanctioned projects such as Train-7, and the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) of 2021.
“With the support of the industry, our sponsors, principals, advocates, staff, contractors, host communities, and even critics, the transformational impact of the delivery of these initiatives has been of resounding success.”
In his remarks, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, represented by the ministry’s permanent secretary, Gabriel Adadu, who joined via zoom, said the Federal Government would not relent in its effort at fostering local content within the sector, diversifying the country’s economy and also ensuring decarbonisation.
He said, “Nigeria’s commitment in fostering local content within the oil and gas industry remains unwavering. The diversification of our economy and the empowerment of our people through the expansion of indigenous participation in the sector is a cornerstone of national agenda.
“We recognize that divestment presents various challenges but there are also opportunities for strategic partnerships, technology transfer, local capacity building; and embracing these challenges tend to leverage the transition to empower Nigerian businesses to get better opportunities and stimulate growth.”
Also speaking, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, said the firm would always support the NCDMB, indigenous companies and partners to upscale local capacity.
Kyari also stressed the importance of local capacity building in the advancement of indigenous participation in the sector to deepen Nigerian content.
The Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Gideon Ekeuwei, lauded management of NCDMB for its unshaken commitment to excellence and consistency, noting that the theme for this year’s PNC emphasised the need for Nigerians to take the lead in the industry and maximise the benefits derived from the country’s vast natural resources.
