Oil & Gas
By Anthony Isibor
SIMBI Wabote, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board, NCDMB, has said that contrary to the views that the board has a lot of money, it has only survived through prudent management of the meagre resources at its disposal.
Wabote said in his opening remarks at the ongoing 2023 Nigerian Oil and Gas, NOG Energy Week on Monday, July 10, 2023 in Abuja, Wabote stressed the need for compliance with the laws for effective functioning of the Board.
Speaking on the importance of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content, NOGIC Act in Achieving Energy Security, he noted that although the law says that 1% of every off stream project; contracts awarded in the off stream sector should be paid into the Nigerian Content account, this is not what has kept it afloat because the total industry spread from the sector in the last couple of years had been very low.
“Let me paint a picture, so that you understand that why we are able to do this is as a result of prudent management of the little resources that we have.
“Fifteen years ago when I was on the other side in Shell, the total industry spread use to be 81 billion dollars year to year. Take 1% of that and it makes a lot of sense.
“If NCDMB was established about 20 years ago, it would have been a rich organisation. As I speak to you, the total industry spread for the past couple of years has not gone beyond 6 billion dollars in the off stream sector because projects are not being sanctioned.
“We are only operating with what we have hoping that production will increase when we are not investing in offshore.
“Take 1% of 6 billion dollars, that is about 6 million dollars, out of the 6 million, about 30% of the people don’t want to pay until we go after them with forensic auditors.
“So what we get in a year is 4 million dollars. And the 4 million dollars is not paid at once. It is paid on invoice basis even though the law says you pay that money as soon as you sign contracts. But those of us in the industry know that it is not practical.
“So you look at the total funds that come to the NCDMB, it is nothing, but with it we are able to implement all our projects today, we are able to carry out all our activities.
“We pride ourselves today that we have not taken any loan from any bank and we are able to set up funds to support local businesses.
“We make bold to say that the NCIF to the Bank of Industry is one of the most successful loan schemes in this country because we have almost 99% pay back,” he added.
Realnews reports that the NCDMB has been at the forefront in pushing for a 100% Nigerian content agenda, especially in the oil and gas sector, and has continued to achieve great feats by investing in business opportunities that will bring in huge returns.
For instance, the investment in the Walter Smith Refinery established almost two years ago and refining just 5000 barrels of crude oil per day.
According to Wabote, the refinery plant has not fore once been shut down since it was established, and today it is the largest functioning refinery apart from ND Western.
Wabote, who also refused to disclose the amount of profit made so far from this singular investment, noted that it has signed the phase two contract for the refinery to increase its production capacity to (10,000) ten thousand barrels of crude daily.
“I can assure you that it is a wise investment to ensure the sustainability of the NCDMB,” he said.
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July 10 @ 16:41
Tags: NCDMB NOG 2023. Simbi Wabote Walter Smith
