Mohammed Shosanya

The Chief Operating Officer, Seplat Energy Plc, Mr. Samson Ezugworie has said that thedivestment story in Nigeria’s petroleum upstream sector has been a success case in terms of value creation, realisation and retention for the economy.

Whilst the International Oil Companies put their focus on deep water activities – courtesy of their divestment programmes – the indigenous oil companies should be supported to grow onshore shallow water assets,he said.

He said this during a panel discussion at the 12th Practical Nigerian Content Forum at Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Headquarters, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State themed ‘Deepening Nigerian Content Amidst Divestments, Domestication & Decarbonisation’. The panel discussion was centered on the topic ‘Upstream Divestments: Outlining the Pathway to Success’.

“So, we need to enable the divestment opportunities that abound in the country today because that is the catalyst that will propel Nigeria to grow as have been set out by the current government,” he advised.

He explained that Seplat Energy has been part of the divestment journey in the petroleum upstream sector of Nigeria, and remains committed to driving excellence and advancing the fortunes of the Nigerian entity whilst impacting more lives and promoting national prosperity. Seplat Energy started this drive in 2009 leading to the acquisition of the Western Asset blocks in 2010, and today, Seplat Energy’s operations cover seven onshore blocks.

He attributed the successes recorded by Seplat Energy and other indigenous players to the potency of the local content advocacy, and urged Nigerians to be proud of the advancements and achievements thus far.

According to him, divestments activities do not only grow local potentials in the Nigerian energy landscape, but also tremendously boost capital development in-country, expand governments’ revenue base in the area of taxes and create jobs for Nigerian businesses and Nigerians.

“Divestments in Nigeria have been of great success and what we need to do today is to make the sky wide enough for all the birds to fly” he added, noting that funding remains very strategic, as the right balance must be struck between sourcing for funding locally and attracting foreign direct investments.

He said: “Governance and ethics are also critical to getting the right funding. There should be a clear and transparent commitment to ESG (Environment, Social and Governance); and shareholders in the business should get the right dividend which retains existing investors and attracts new ones.

“The future looks bright for Nigeria as we have quite a number of divestment opportunities in-country. Let’s enable those and allow the country to achieve organic growth.”

Mohammed Shosanya

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited,has signed two major agreements to deliver LNG to the domestic gas market and the international LNG market.

The development was pursuant to further boost natural gas utilization in the country and enhance Nigeria’s gas revenue,a statement said.

The statement quoted that,during tge two separate signing ceremonies held on the sidelines of the on-going United Nation’s Climate Change Conference (also known as COP28), NNPC Ltd. signed an MoU with Wison Heavy Industry Co. Ltd, a Chinese company, for the development of floating LNG project in Nigeria, targeting the international LNG market.

Besides,NNPC Prime LNG Ltd.,an arm of NNPC Trading Ltd., signed a Supply, Installation and Commissioning Agreement with SDP Services, an independent oil and gas company, for a 421 tonnes per day LNG project targeting the domestic LNG market.

According to the statement,the Floating LNG MoU was signed by the Executive Vice President, Gas, Power & New Energy, Olalekan Ogunleye on behalf of NNPC Ltd and Mr. Kai Xu, Managing Director of Wison Ltd, on behalf of his company. Both parties agreed to work together to chart a roadmap for the project development that will lead to an investment decision.

The Small-Scale LNG (SSLNG) Project agreement was signed by the Managing Director, NNPC Trading Ltd., Mr. Lawal Sade, on behalf of NNPC Prime LNG Ltd. while Mr. Abhinav Modi, Managing Director of SDP Services Ltd., signed on behalf of his company.

The SSLNG Project, which will be located at Ajaokuta in Kogi State, Central Nigeria, will ensure the efficient supply of LNG to the Autogas/Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and industrial/commercial customers nationwide. The LNG Project is expected to be operational by December 2024.

Speaking after the signing ceremony, the EVP Gas, Power & New Energy, Mr. Olalekan Ogunleye said NNPC Ltd. is committed to delivering gas to industries nationwide and accelerating the company’s gas commercialisation efforts through the floating LNG Project.

“We see both projects as having enormous impact all over the country because they are central to the commercialisation of Nigeria’s abundant gas resources and ensuring that our country earns the much-needed foreign revenue from its abundant gas assets. It is also consistent with NNPC management’s drive to deliver on Mr. President’s gas and power aspirations across the country,” Ogunleye stated.

In his address after the signing, the MD NNPC Trading Ltd., Mr. Lawal Sade said the SSLNG Project will boost the domestication of LNG utilisation by supporting the growth of auto-gas initiatives across the country.

“We are looking at a timeframe of 12 months from execution to the commissioning of the project. The project will deliver about 420 tonnes per day of LNG per day into the domestic market, which will enhance efficient delivery of gas to the auto-gas/CNG and industrial customers in line with Presidential mandate,” Sade added.

Expressing their delight at signing the agreements,the partners pledged to work with NNPC Ltd. to deliver the projects within schedule and in the most cost-effective manner.

Mohammed Shosanya

The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote announcing that the agency has completed 83 percent of the 96 initiatives it started under the Nigerian Content 10-year Strategic Roadmap.

He disclosed this at the 12th Practical Nigerian Content Forum 2023 got underway on Tuesday at the Nigerian Content Towers, Yenagoa.

Presenting the scorecard of the NCDMB at the PNC which is attended by over 700 oil and gas stakeholders, the Executive Secretary indicated that the Board’s focus would shift to the remaining initiatives, which according to him required some heavy lifting to bring them to fruition.

He disclosed that Nigerian Content level in 2023 stood at 54 per cent, just like in 2022,adding that the calculation is based on the Board’s monitoring and evaluation of industry activities.

According to him, “this performance is well above the minimum target of 47 percent Nigerian Content set for 2023 by the Board’s Project Management Office (PMO) just like we outperformed the 42 percent Nigerian Content target set for 2022 by achieving 54 percent Nigerian Content.”

He indicated that the top three performers of in-country spend are Shipping, Surveying/ Positioning services, and Inspection/ Testing and Certification with each at 100 percent NC level, while the bottom three performers are Modification and Maintenance at 26 percent NC level; Health, Safety and Environment at 31 percent NC level; and Materials and Procurement at 32 percent NC level.

He expressed concern that the stagnation of the Nigerian Content achievement at 54 percent raised questions on whether we had reached a point of stagnation or an inflection, leading to the decline in Nigerian Content level in the oil and gas industry.

The NCDMB boss reminded the top government functionaries and industry stakeholders that “getting the industry to this level of Nigerian Content is not a walk in the park,” and called on all stakeholders to “play their part to prevent the industry from rolling back to the dark days of implementing Nigerian Content as a token of consolation.

He cautioned that “The nexus between high Nigerian Content levels and the relative peace in the industry must not be lost on us,” noting that a “a lack of leadership backing at all levels opens the door for the practice to take the back seat.”

The Executive Secretary took the occasion to present what he termed “a reflection on the journey in the last seven and a half years of being in the saddle as the Executive Secretary.”

Citing data from the Board’s Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Joint Qualification System (NOGIC-JQS), he said registered indigenous industry operators have increased from 53 in 2018 to 114 in 2023, while indigenous service companies increased from 8,000 to 11,000 within the same period. Also, individual registrations surged from 140,000 to almost 400,000.

Under one of five pillars of the Roadmap, namely, Technical Capability Development, are other major accomplishments, one of which is the increase in in-country fabrication capacity from 60,000 tons per year to 250,000 tons within the aforesaid period.

Engr. Wabote disclosed that eight industrial parks being developed by the Board to support manufacturing and assembly of equipment and input materials required in the industry are at various stages of execution. He reported that the Nigerian Oil and Gas Park Scheme (NOGaPS) at Emeyal-1, in Bayelsa State, and a similar Park at Odukpani in Cross River State are due for commissioning in the first half of 2024.

In a goodwill message, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, commended the NCDMB for its outstanding performance in local content implementation, and for the ongoing PNC Forum.

He assured the industry stakeholders that the Federal Government is committed to promoting cleaner, more sustainable practices within the energy sector, even as the country continues with hydrocarbon extraction.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Lokpobiri was represented at the PNC by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Ambassador Gabriel Aduda. He said Nigeria aligns with the global push for environmental stewardship and would explore all means of making production processes conform to cleaner technologies.

While drawing attention to the theme of the Forum, “Deepening Nigerian Content Amidst Divestments, Domestication and Decarbonisation,” the Minister called on stakeholders to “embrace the challenges that have been posed by divestment to actively promote domestication and steadfastly pursue the path of Decarbonization.”

The Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Alabo Gideon Ekeuwei, lauded the NCDMB and its Management for extraordinary successes and charged participants to explore avenues for collaboration, joint ventures, and partnerships that will help Nigeria to fully harness Nigerian Content potentialities.