Mohammed Shosanya
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB)says it is set to host oil and gas industry experts and policy makers at its Practical Nigerian Content Forum (PNC), 2023.
According to a statement issued by the board,activities for the 12th edition of the annual programme scheduled for the Nigerian Content Tower headquarters of the NCDMB in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, will start on December 4,this year.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, and his Gas counterpart, Ekperikpo Ekpo would lead other big players in the oil and gas industry to participate in the event,the statement said.
The ministers, according to the statement,will deliver ministerial addresses and to show the direction of the Federal Government’s thinking concerning Nigerian Content and investment strategies.
The Forum is hosted by the NCDMB in partnership with DMG Events and the Bayelsa State Government.
This year’s edition will open with an invitational golf tourney and welcome dinner – the first of the three gala nights that would be sponsored by Coleman Wires and Cables, the Bayelsa State Government and the Nigeria LNG Ltd, to be closed on Thursday, December 7, 2023 with a visit by delegates to the facility of MG VOWGAS in Port Harcourt, River State.
The statement disclosed that some of the presentations that would be received at the PNC include the opening keynote address by the host of the event and Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Simbi Wabote, while the Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, and Chief Executive, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority (NMDPA), Farouk Ahmed, alongside other key industry figures would feature prominently in the four-day event.
Besides,the Group Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kolo Kyari, is also expected to grace the PNC.
The statement also said,major international oil companies, members of the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG) and service companies, would be actively participating in the four-day conference, with their chief executive officers functioning in one capacity or the other, principally as moderators of panel discussions or panellists or delivering papers on critical subjects relating to local content practice in the oil and gas industry.
The agency added:”For the 2023 edition, key subjects for the panel sessions centre around “Providing an Enabling Environment for Investment in the Energy Sector”, “Opportunities in Decarbonisation and Domestic Gas Utilization”, “Deepening Nigerian Content in the Manufacturing Sector”, and “Financing a Thriving Midstream Sector for Socioeconomic Development”, and “Sustainable Framework for Human Capacity Development.” Presentations on R&D Success Stories are also expected.
“In addition to the expansive exhibition, the PNC Forum affords prospective investors and clients as well as fund managers an interactive platform with key Federal Government officials overseeing the oil and gas sector, key industry operators and service providers, and chief executives of the regulatory agencies.
“Among the industry players, a major activity is evaluation of their performances in local content practice, and consideration of appropriate adjustments aimed at better results.
“To be showcased are opportunities for collaboration and partnership between the public sector and private business interests and between the private sector and academia; also, emerging opportunities from divestments by IOCs and the decarbonisation drive in the industry.”
