Mohammed Shosanya

The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, on Thursday commissioned the corporate Head Office and Training Academy of the hospitality conglomerate, Genesis Group Limited, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

He lauded the firm for being the leading provider of catering services for major oil and gas companies in the country and employing over 2,500 persons across its various operations.

The firm’s footprints include operating seven standard hotels across the nation, managing 30 restaurants in eight states and operating 12 cinemas.

He highlighted the specialization and expertise that are required in catering for the oil and gas industry, stressing that the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act does not allow for the lowering of standards under any guise.

He said: “The ability to cook is perhaps just about 20% of what is required to provide good catering service for the oil and gas industry. The ambience, how you serve the food, the people you use to serve the food, how you preserve the food, the quality of the substance you use are the most important conditions. It is all encompassing.”

The Academy, built by the Group for capacity building in Hotel and Tourism Management, Client Service Dynamics, Business Processes, Etiquette, Emotional Intelligence, Logistics and Supply Chain, among other courses drew commendation from the Executive Secretary, who emphasized the importance of those skills in delivering wholesome hospitality experience.

He said the Genesis Group has helped to raise in-country value and reduce the dominance of foreign companies in industrial catering and hospitality, recalling that very few Nigerian firms could compete with such foreign interests in the hospitality industry until the 1990s.

The firm and other indigenous players in the sector facilitated the actualisation of provisions of the NOGICD Act which stipulate, among other things, “a minimum of 80% Nigerian Content” in catering services in the industry.

Speaking further on the accomplishments of the company, which ranks as the first indigenous catering firm to be certified as ISO 90001 and ISO 22000-compliant, he pointed out that Genesis has demonstrated strict compliance in both local and international best practices in safety, quality and regulatory requirements. He equally observed that it is one of the very organisations in Nigeria where female staff far outnumber their male counterparts.

He commended “The visionary leadership of the founder and Group Managing Director of Genesis, Ichie Dr. Nnaeto Orazulike, for his outstanding entrepreneurship, noting that he has demonstrated the “CAN DO” attitude, which drives his commitment to delivering world-class services with a strong customer focus.”

He maintained that local content development is the only guarantee of increased productivity, stable economic development as well as stabilisation of the naira.

In his comments, Dr Orazulike thanked the NCDMB boss and representatives of international oil companies (IOCs) for their support and patronage, assuring that the Group was poised to even surpass its present achievements.

His vision for the near future, he disclosed, was to build a world-class hospitality centre and to provide world-class cinematic experience. These would be attained through capacity building programmes to be provided by the newly commissioned Training Academy and other initiatives of the organisation.

In goodwill messages, representatives of the Waltersmith Modular Refinery in Ohaji Egbema Local Government Area, Imo State, and Bank of Industry (BOI) commended the company for its sterling performance over the years. The BOI Management stated that “The partnership with Genesis has been very rewarding” because “every step taken has been well guided.” It promised to continue to work closely with the company.

Mohammed Shosanya

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC),has confirmed receipt of request from Dangote Refinery to guarantee the supply of 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

The Chief executive of NUPRC, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, announced this during a meeting with crude oil producers in Abuja,

He said:“We received a request from the refinery to guarantee feedstock to the 650,000 barrels per day refinery, and we believe that as a nation, it will be a shame if we cannot meet the feedstock of the refinery.

“So this meeting was conveyed for us to collectively put heads together to address the issue of providing feedstock to our domestic refineries so that at the end of the day, the objective is for us, take this nation to the level where we become a net exporter of refined products, as against being a net exporter of crude without value addition, as we’ve experiencing”.

He noted that as the largest oil producer in Africa and 7th in OPEC, Nigeria could no longer afford to be a net importer of petroleum products, saying companies which violate the law could be fined as much as $10,000 and have their export licences withdrawn.

He implored oil producers to make available the volume needed for local refining, stressing that supply to the domestic market would henceforth be given priority over export

According to him, the industry’s inability to meet its domestic refining obligations has impacted negatively on the economy given the volume taken as under-recovery during the petrol subsidy regime.

He added:”Domestic crude oil supply obligation refers to the requirements imposed by the government on oil producers to allocate a certain portion of their crude oil production for domestic consumption. This is done to ensure a stable and reliable supply of crude oil for the country’s domestic needs, including refining petroleum products.

“Section 109 of the Petroleum Industry Act introduces the domestic crude oil supply obligation to the oil industry in Nigeria in a bid to ensure crude supply to local refineries. Under section 109 subsection two of the PIA, the commission gazetted the production containment and domestic crude oil supply regulations which provides clarity of the obligations of the stakeholders”.

He noted that where there are supply gaps, the Commission has the responsibility to step in by issuing a “request for quotation to oil producers requiring them to submit a quotation for the supply of crude oil to meet the shortage. Upon receiving responses from the oil producers, the Commission makes available the information to the affected refineries to facilitate contract negotiations between these stakeholders. If no resolution is reached, the commission shall impose an obligation on oil producers to supply and notify the Authority of the same.

“The volume of crude oil that oil producing companies shall dedicate to the domestic crude supply obligation shall be based on an allocation system determined by the Commission”.

He stated that the Commission would take all necessary steps that would be needed to avoid an inadequate supply of crude oil to domestic refineries.

He disclosed that the Commission shall “enforce the following penalties for violations or non-compliance to the provisions of Section 109 of the Act. A company which fails to respond to requests for quotations within a specified period is liable to pay an administrative fine of $10,000 to the Commission that is for the period of default.
A company which has not complied with its domestic crude supply obligation, where a willing buyer insists, shall not be granted an export permit for the lease there. A company that fails to comply with the domestic supply obligation shall incur a penalty of 50 per cent of the fiscal price for barrels not delivered.

“This is a matter of importance to us as a nation, we have reached a point where we need value addition to our crude, we cannot be exporting crude without adding value to it and that is the intent in the PIA, and as responsible regulator we have to enforce that.

“So our appeal is to you all as producers to collaborate with us in the interest of our nation because if we develop our mainstream, that is where value lies.
“Especially with the momentum in energy transition, so we need to develop our mainstream given the multiplier effect and benefits of developing our mainstream. So it is going to be a matter of national shame if we cannot meet our domestic obligation to step up domestic refining capacity. So this is the issue. We need reliable backup to the data you want to give us, the CCE said.

Mohammed Shosanya

The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Wabote, has commissioned MG VOWGAS’ newly installed 200-ton heat treatment furnace and state-of-the-art dish head forming machine at the company’s yard in Port Harcourt

Wabote,who spoke at the event,commended the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm for its remarkable local content performance, technological capability and innovation.

He said that the facilities had provided the company with technological capability “to fabricate and load out a variety of steel structures and equipment.”

The furnace, the largest in the country, has as volume 600 cubic metres and a working temperature of 1,150 degrees Celsius, which is capable of heating and cooling various materials, ensuring optimal strength, durability and performance.

Wabote also lauded MG Vowgas for acquiring a dishhead forming machine that can press up to 400mm thick steel with ASME U-stamp, thereby filling a big gap in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

Noting the remarkable transformation of the company’s fabrication yard in Woji, Port Harcourt, which has six workshops now as against three in 2018 within its 118,000 square metres physical space, the NCDMB boss hinted that “MG VOWGAS is a superb example of what a Nigerian oil and gas service company can grow into, over a period of time in demonstration of the resilience of Nigerian enterprise.”

He added:“For over two decades, they have successfully delivered a range of challenging projects ranging from facility revamping, molecular sieve beads change out, Turn Around Maintenance (TAM), EPCIC [Engineering, Procurement, construction, Installation, and commissioning] of offshore structures, pipeline construction, in-plant piping, fabrication of process packages, warehousing, and maritime services for notable clients in the oil and gas sector.”

The excellent safety record of the company, which stands at 2-million manhours without lost time incident (LTI), also elicited praise from the NCDMB boss. He charged the Management to “to keep up the trajectory to the next milestone of 3 million LTI-free manhours.”

Speaking on the significance of the success story of MG VOWGAS for the country’s local content drive, Engr. Wabote said the attainments of the company “give us the confidence that we can add value locally, create employment opportunities, and build the skill sets necessary to grow our economy.”

He emphasized that local content would boost local production of goods and services, minimize importation, and “shore up the value of the naira.”

He challenged the company to take its services to other African countries.

He hinted that the Board’s interaction with sister African countries such as Namibia, Uganda, Senegal, Equatorial Guinea and others showed their readiness to tap from the experience of Nigeria in the implementation of local content practice as well as their eagerness to collaborate with Nigerian businesses.

He commended international oil and gas companies and the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas Ltd for supporting local business as well as the implementation of Nigerian Content so far.

In a welcome address, the Group Managing Director of MG VOWGAS Group, Mr. Godwin Izomor, commended the NCDMB, particularly its Executive Secretary, Engr. Wabote for his committed efforts “to nurture and support local content development in the oil and gas industry,” which has been “instrumental in promoting technological advancements and fostering the growth of local expertise.”

He noted that “as we inaugurate these state-of-the-art machines, we renew our commitment to advancing local content development, embracing innovation, and fostering sustainable growth within the energy sector.”