Oil & Gas
By Isibor Anthony.
SIMBI Wabote, executive secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, has expressed optimism in the current realities Nigeria faces as a nation and the opportunities and synergies that could be realized when the country hopefully returns to normalcy from the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to him, even the data just released by the NBS shows that Nigeria’s GDP moved from 0.11% in Q4, 2020 to 0.51% in Q1, 2021 just as oil contribution to the economy also moved from 5.87% to 9.25%.
He made this known at the third edition of the Nigerian Oil & Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) held on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state.
The fair, which is organized by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, is held every two years and serves as a platform for showcasing opportunities across the value chain of the Oil and Gas Business to industry stakeholders.
It also serves as a means of reviewing and updating the five-year outlook of opportunities in the oil and gas industry.
The meeting, which was held virtually in line with the protocols in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was tagged ‘’Leveraging Opportunities and Synergies for Post Pandemic Recovery of the Nigerian Oil & Gas Industry’’.
“At the last event in 2019, the Board made some commitments to the industry as part of its contribution to the creation and/or realization of industry opportunities. In line with our practice within NCDMB to provide a status update of commitments and actions from previous conferences, permit me to share the update of our actions from the 2019 NOGOF.
“In 2019, we promised to complete our 17-storey headquarters building. I am happy to report that we delivered on this promise with the commissioning and naming of the edifice as the Nigerian Content Tower by President Muhammadu Buhari. We successfully relocated all our staff into the building in Q3 of 2020.
“In addition, power supply to the edifice is guaranteed from the fully commissioned and operational gas-fired 10MW Power Plant at Elebele thereby cutting cost from the use of diesel by more than 70%.
He also said that “In the last two years, we have commenced partnerships to deliver gas value-chain related projects as follows:
“Partnership with NEDO Gas Processing Company in Kwale, Delta State for the establishment of 80MMscfd of Gas Processing Plant and a 300MMscfd Kwale Gas Gathering hub.
“Partnership with Triansel Gas Limited in Koko, Delta State for the 5,000MT LPG Storage and Loading Terminal Facility.
“Partnership with Duport Midstream for the construction of Energy Park inclusive of a modular refinery, power plant, and 40MMscfd gas processing facility at Egbokor, Edo State.
“Partnership with Brass Fertiliser for the development of a 10,000MT/day Methanol Plant and 500MMscfd gas processing plant at Odiama in Brass.
“Partnership with Rungas Group for the manufacturing of 1.2 million composite LPG cylinders every year in Bayelsa and Lagos States.
“Partnership with Butane Energy to deepen LPG utilization in the North with the roll-out of LPG bottling plants and depots in ten (10) Northern States of Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Bauchi, Nassarawa, Zamfara, Niger, Plateau, Gombe, Jigawa states and Abuja.”
Wabote also said that the NOGOF had delivered on its 2019 projections as contained in the 2019 NOGOF communiqué.
“We also promised to deliver on our investment policy on modular refineries. We have proven the concept with the commissioning of the 5,000bpd Walter Smith Modular Refinery at Ibigwe, Imo State. Three (3) other modular refineries are under construction under our Commercial Ventures programs.
“We have also implemented other actions such as ascertaining the capacity of fabrication yards in Nigeria, gap closure of special skills such as Certification of Level-3 Non-Destructive Testing Practitioners and setting up of Diploma Programme for Marine Quantity Surveyors at the Niger Delta University.
These, according to him, were done to replenish aging practitioners and the scarcity of skills set.
Wabote, who argued that funding is one of the critical elements required to realize oil and gas opportunities, stated that “We have widened the options for accessing our intervention funds by increasing the size of our intervention funds from $200 million to $350 million, increasing the number of products from 5 to 7, and also increasing the number of managing banks from 1 to 2.
“The USD50 million Nigerian Content Research and Development Fund has been approved by the NCDMB Governing Council to drive basic research, commercialization of research breakthroughs, the establishment of Centers of Excellence and to sponsor University endowments.
– May 26, 2021 @ 15:15 GMT
A.I
Tags: NCDMB Simbi Wabote
