Nigeria Indigenous Oil Operators Account For 60% Of Gas Supply, Says NCDMB
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John ODHE, Yenagoa
The Secutive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Wabote has said the implementation of Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development, (NOGICD) Act has given indigenous oil and gas operators ownership of production activities in the oil and gas sector.
This he noted has resulted in the indigenous operators producing 15% of Nigeria’s domestic oil production and 60% of gas supply, adding that before the enactment of the NOGICD Act there was near zero participation of Nigerians in the oil and gas industry.
WABOTE disclosed this visually during the Local Content Workshop for Bayelsa State Judiciary with the theme: ” Philosophy and The Imperative of the NOGICD ACT organised by Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
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According to him, there has been a remarkable improvement in the level of Nigerian Content in the oil industry which was about 5 percent prior to the enactment of NOGICD Act in 2010, but has significantly increased to 42 percent with the coming on stream of the Nigerian content law.
He emphasised that one of the gains of the implementation of the NOGICD Act is that it ensured the retention of $8b that would been spent on importation of equipment and machinery as well as payment of expartriates.
The Executive Secretary hinted that this feat was achieved because of the deliberate and conscious effort by the board towards the development of critical capacities and assets by indigenous oil and gas servicing companies through increased domiciliation and domestication of industry operations.
He said: ” Nigeria has also moved from near zero participation in the operations side of the oil and gas sector to the point that our indigenous operators such as SEPLAT, AITEO, EROTON, and others are now responsible for 15 percent of our oil production and 60 percent of our domestic gas supply.
” Before now local economy used to retain little or nothing from the annual oil industry spend of $20 billion before the NOGICD Act, 2010 but is now able to retain more than $8 billion in-country per year. The improvement is because of the development of critical capacities and assets by local oil and gas service companies and increased domiciliation and domestication of industry operations.”
The Chief Judge of Bayelsa State, Justice Kate Abiri while delivering her keynote address on “The Role of Courts in attaining the objectives of the NOGICD Act, 2010, stated that the enactment of the Act is one of the major achievement in the Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.”
She pointed out that the Act establishes a comprehensive local content regime and enshrine legal measures which promote the patronage of Nigerian products and services by the operators in the Nigerian Oil and gas industry.
Abiri, while assuring the management of the NCDMB and all oil operators in the oil and gas sector of the court’s readiness in playing its constitutional role towards attaining the objective of the NOGICD Act, lauded the Board for the establishment of e-Library and e-probate as well as boosting of server and provision of desktop computers to start the e-Library process.
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