As part of efforts to end reliance on imported steel pipe services, transform pipeline engineering and create jobs, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board NCDMB, has thrown its weight behind Brentex Petroleum Services Limited’s Steel Pipe Induction Bending and Coating Facility.
The Brentex Facility is a $50 million investment being developed to provide integrated steel pipe induction bending, heat treatment, testing, and coating services for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
The project, which has attracted over $26 million in investments to date, is expected to become Africa’s first fully integrated 2-inch to 48-inch steel pipe induction bending and coating plant upon completion.
NCDMB described the facility located at the Federal Ocean Terminal (FOT), Onne Port, Rivers State, as a significant progress, noting that it would boost local manufacturing.
Speaking during a tour of the facility, the NCDMB Executive Secretary, Mr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, reaffirmed its decade-long partnership with Brentex, and pledged to encourage oil firms to patronise Brentex Steel Pipe Facility.
According to Ogbe, the project is a landmark industrial project and a major demonstration of Nigeria’s growing status as a leading hub for oil and gas logistics, engineering, and manufacturing services.
He congratulated Brentex Petroleum Services Limited on the project and reaffirmed the Board’s commitment to working with industry stakeholders to deepen in-country capacity, promote industrialisation, and expand the scope of Nigerian Content in the oil and gas industry.
The NCDMB boss praised Brentex Petroleum Services Limited over what he described as its bold investment, resilience, and commitment to developing indigenous capacity, noting that the company’s steady progress on the facility reflected the growing confidence of Nigerian firms in delivering world-class oil and gas infrastructure and engineering solutions.
The executive secretary who was represented by the Director, Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate (MED), Mr. Esueme Dan Kikile, noted that the emergence of the Brentex Steel Pipe Induction Bending and Coating Facility represents “a direct and tangible response to the quest for in-country capacity in specialised pipeline engineering services.
“The project will advance our collective goal of retaining value, creating jobs, and strengthening Nigeria’s position as a leading energy services hub in Africa.”
In a recollection of the beginnings of the company and the project, he disclosed that, “we’ve been on this journey with Brentex for over a decade. Today, we’ve seen what you are doing on ground. And that’s actually the whole idea about the equipment component manufacturing initiative of the NCDMB – in-country value addition – and you have been steadfast.”
The NCDMB boss urged the management of Brentex to sustain the momentum on the project and maintain the highest standards of quality, safety, and operational excellence, noting that the facility has the potential to become a flagship Nigerian Content asset and a reference point for specialised pipeline engineering services across Africa.
“I’d like to express the Board’s deep appreciation for your investment in our country, and to assure you that you have our support.
“Whatever we can also do to get the industry to patronise this investment, we’ll do that, because it’s very important that the industry take advantage of what we have in-country.”
In his opening remarks, the Managing Director of Brentex Petroleum Services Limited, Mr. Chidi Nzerem thanked the NCDMB Executive Secretary and the Board delegation for the visit, describing it as a strong vote of confidence in the project and its contribution to the growth of in-country capacity.
Nzerem also acknowledged the Board’s support and partnership over the past 10 years, noting that the sustained interventions had been instrumental to the facility’s progress, adding that it was conceived to advance the objectives of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, 2010.
He expressed high hopes that the Board’s support would be sustained, hinting that the facility is scheduled to become fully operational in the last quarter of 2027.
Responding to an inquiry by the General Manager, Downstream, Project Certification and Authorisation Division (PCAD), Ms. Tassalla Tersurgh, on the facility’s contribution to human capital development, the managing director said the company would engage NCDMB after facility certification to develop training programmes aligned with the Board’s mandate.
He disclosed that the facility is expected to engage about 200 engineers and other technical personnel, creating employment, technical training, skills transfer and capacity-building opportunities, with the long-term goal of the facility being 100 per cent handled and operated by trained Nigerians.
Speaking on the importance of the facility, the Project Manager at Brentex, Mr. Patrick Anaje, stated that the facility, the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa, is expected to transform pipeline engineering services by providing the country’s first fully integrated in-country solution for steel pipe induction bending and coating.
He disclosed that “Brentex is currently engaged in the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Natural Gas Pipeline project, where the company’s new capabilities would be of immense value.
“With an estimated 95 per cent of steel pipes currently imported, the facility will enable operators to source specialised pipe induction bending, coating and pipe repair services locally, significantly reducing dependence on foreign suppliers and overseas repairs, shortening project delivery timelines, lowering procurement-related delays and costs, and improving operational efficiency across the oil and gas industry.”
According to Anaje, the project will also deliver significant benefits to the national economy by retaining industry value within Nigeria.
The ceremony was attended by top management officials of NCDMB, executives of Brentex Petroleum Services Limited, industry stakeholders, project consultants, contractors, representatives of the host communities of Onne and Ogu, members of the Community Liaison Committee CLC.
