Mayowa Balogun

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has concluded a two-day Local Content development experience-sharing session with a delegation from Mozambique’s national oil company, Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH).

The development follows Nigeria’s leadership role in the development of Local Content in Africa.

The engagement was held on the sidelines of the 8th Sub-Saharan Africa International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference, in Lagos.

NCDMB’s delegation was led by the Executive Secretary, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, while Mozambique’s team was led by the Chairman of Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos, Mr. Estevao Rafeal Pale,a statement said.

According to the statement,the experience-sharing session was facilitated by Aberdeen Global Strategies & Solutions, under the leadership of Dr. Mark Osa Igiehon, who consults for ENH Mozambique.

Speaking,the Executive Secretary conveyed NCDMB’s commitment to supporting African oil-producing nations in developing and implementing local content policies as a strategy for improving indigenous participation and value optimization from hydrocarbons and mineral resources.

He lauded the giant strides recorded by Mozambique in its gas sector and advised against repeating the mistakes made by Nigeria in the early years of its oil and gas industry.

Represented by the Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, NCDMB, Mr. Abdulmalik Halilu, the Executive Secretary explained that every oil and gas-producing nation must choose to either focus on optimizing revenue generation or maximizing in-country value from the activities of the industry.

He stated that the revenue generation option encourages oil and gas operators to seek the cheapest and fastest route to first oil, while the Government collects maximum revenue in the form of taxes and royalties for development and pays little attention to value addition from industry operations.

He explained that the alternative option focuses on maximizing in-country value and promoting the development and use of local capacities. This model obligates operators in the industry to consider long-term value, while the Government takes lower revenue in exchange for higher in-country value and pays greater attention to life-cycle support for operators.

Speaking further, the NCDMB boss listed key parameters that are critical to in-country value addition and growth of the oil and gas sector on a sustainable basis.

These factors are regulatory framework, gap analysis,capacity building,funding and incentives,research and development,and access to market.

He hinted that a Local Content policy backed with appropriate legislation is very fundamental in local content practice, adding that baseline and periodic gap analyses are essential to determine gaps that need to be closed in the areas of skills, facilities and infrastructure.

He also stressed the need to develop in-country capacities and capabilities and utilise them through oil and gas projects.

The knowledge-sharing programme also featured a presentation on Funds and Funding of NCDMB​, delivered by the Director of Finance and Personnel Management, NCDMB​, Dr. Obinna Ofili.

The Director was represented by the Head, Credit Analysis and Risk Management, Mrs. Chika Enwerem–Okidi, and underlined the need for dedicated funding that would be applied to developing local content in the oil sector.

The Director mentioned that the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF) is provided for in section 104 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act and is contributed by 1% of every contract awarded in the upstream section of the oil and gas industry.

He added that the NCDF has been deployed in several successful projects, including the building of human and material capacities, the $350 million Nigerian Content Intervention Fund, the ongoing development of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme (NOGAPS), the construction of the NCDMB 17-story corporate headquarters, and 3rd party investments, many of which created jobs for Nigerians and yield interest for the Board.

The second day of the knowledge-sharing programme featured presentations on the operating framework for planning, research and statistics, capacity building, projects certification and authorization and monitoring and evaluation.

The Director of Projects Certification and Authorization, Engr. Abayomi Bamidele highlighted NCDMB’s role in the award of contracts for oil and gas projects and how opportunities are captured for the local economy, using the Nigerian Content Plan and the Contracting Strategy submitted by operating companies for the Board’s review and approval.

He underlined that local content should be promoted as a national agenda for every country and the right data must be collected to establish current realities and gaps to the target.

He emphasised the need for in-country capacity building based on areas of strengths and weaknesses as well as continuous projects to keep the developed capacities engaged.

The knowledge-sharing programme was very interactive and the Mozambican officials sought clarifications on the Board’s model of enforcing Local Content Compliance,monitoring projects, supervising third-party investments, and many other areas.

The programme was convened in line with the Sectorial and Regional Market Linkage Pillar of the Nigerian Content 10-year strategic roadmap.

The roadmap requires NCDMB to support other African oil-producing countries and to develop new markets and partnership opportunities for the benefit of competent Nigerian operating and oil service companies.

Mercy Salawu

The Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) has said there’s no conflict between its members and the transport unions.

The clarification came on the heels of strike initiated by the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) and the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) which started on Monday.

A statement from the association said,Individual marketers are in discussions with their transporters for fair rates, adhering to the Petroleum Industry Act and FCCPC Act, which prohibits jointly setting rates.

It added:Pump price deregulation promotes healthy competition, encouraging cost-reduction measures for better customer value. It’s a gradual process that requires time for full price recovery and market competition.

“All stakeholders, including operators and MDAs, must collaborate to optimize the supply chain for affordability amid the challenging environment. MEMAN and its members recognize the industry’s complexities and commits to sustainable solutions in cooperation with relevant stakeholders”

Mohammed Shosanya

The National President, Nigerian Gas and Oil Suppliers Association (NOGASA),has lamented that Nigeria’s hostile economic environment will collapse its operation.

Its President,Chief Bennett Korie,who disclosed this at a press conference on Tuesday in Abuja,blamed the rising cost of diesel and the high dollar rate for the worsening petrol price in the country.

He warned that should the Federal Government fail to address the challenges, the hostile business environment will naturally liquidate marketers of petrol to fold up before the end of February 2024.

He implored the Federal Government to impose price regulation on Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) diesel, proposing capping its pump price similar to that of petrol.

He said: “Fix that diesel problem then PMS will be stable. If NNPCL will keep the PMS Price from June to date, is there anything wrong with doing it for AGO?

“So, let the government, if the government wants to be fair, wants to do the deregulation proper, the diesel too should go the same way PMS is going.

“Heavens will not fall if you sell AGO N650/litre. The same magic that they have in PMS, the government should apply it on AGO, and then you should see things ease.”

He urged the government to adopt the N750/$ 2024 Budget exchange rate benchmark as its official exchange rate in order to tame the worsening exchange rate crisis.

He disclosed that most private refineries including the modular ones are afraid to commence production because they are not sure of the price to fix.

According to him,some agencies as the Nigeria Ports Authority and the Nigerian Maritime and Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) are still collecting their payments in dollars to aggravate the forex challenge.

He urged the government to intervene in the bank interest rate, which is also accountable for the current hostile business environment in the country.

He also advised the government to do all its domestic crude oil transactions in Naira to lessen the scarcity of dollar.

On how to adopt the Naira as the currency for crude oil business in the country, he said: “If you are buying crude oil from the government you pay in dollar so how are you rate how much you are going to sell how much it is going to be tomorrow. So, it is going to affect you tomorrow.

“If we have one price from the government then when you are buying crude oil from the government, from NNPCL, you multiply it by the government rate and then you convert Naira and begin to sell to Nigeria in Naira.”

He also urged the Federal Government to pay the outstanding bridging claims to marketers,adding that the government should “reintroduce and strengthen the Petroleum Equalization Fund to enable marketers to recoup and reinvest their funds for the benefit of the industry and economy.”

Korie also urged the government to fix the roads in the country in other to reduce the tear and wear of the trucks

Mohammed Shosanya

Nigeria recorded capital expenditure (Capex) worth billions of dollars within the last two and a half years characterised by the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, stated this recently in Lagos after receiving The Sun Public Service Award 2023, during the newspaper’s 21st Anniversary Award Dinner.

Speaking after receiving his award, the commission chief executive said the award would further encourage him and his team to be more dedicated to the service of the nation.

Revealing that he had received over 40 different awards in the last one year, Komolafe noted that awards signified the reward mechanism in the society, stressing that when the resourceful ones were rewarded, it further inspires others to be resourceful and contribute to the task of nation-building.

“First, let me seize this opportunity to thank the management and staff of The Sun for honouring me with this award. Indeed, in the last one year, I’ve received over 40 awards. But this award will further encourage us to dedicate ourselves to the service of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Like the Chairman of the occasion mentioned in his speech, the task of nation building is a collective effort. It is not for people in government alone. It is actually for all the citizenry. And this award speaks to the reward mechanism in our society. When the resourceful ones are rewarded, it further inspires others to be resourceful and contribute to the task of nation building”, Komolafe said.

He dedicated the award to his darling wife and other members of the commission.

Specifically to the oil and gas industry and the mandate of the commission, he said since their resumption at the NUPRC in the last two and a half years as pioneer staff and management, they have dedicated themselves to the service of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

According to him, the team had been discharging their duties silently and assiduously in ensuring the implementation of their statutory mandate effectively, resulting to the success stories being told.

However, Komolafe revealed that the country has recorded capital expenditure (Capex) worth billions of dollars within the last two and a half years of the implementation of the PIA, coupled with the enabling regulations being churned out and implemented by the commission.

From the feedback received from the industry, he said the country now has about 30 rigs in its upstream oil and gas sector, against 11 active rigs in 2011, attributing the significant improvement to the restoration of investors’ confidence in the industry.

Komolafe explained, “That is huge success for us, and you know that rig count is a measure of vibrant activities in the oil industry. We have been able to attract confidence, certainty, predictability into the Industry.

“If you check, we’ve attracted Capex going into billions of dollars into the Nigerian upstream. So, gradually, we are happy that we have success stories to tell just in about less than two and half years, and while doing this with my dedicated team, we never knew that people were watching.

“So, what you have seen today is a message that the Nigerian society are watching and that the award will further serve to propel us to higher service in the service of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Explaining further, the commission chief executive said NUPRC had churned out over 17 regulations with the objective of giving meaning to the intent of the PIA.

He said these regulations serve as regulatory tools to ensure certainty and predictability in the activities of the industry as against pre-PIA regime.

He said the “oil industry is now in an era of post-PIA regime where we proudly would say that, now, there is certainty and attraction of investors’ confidence.”