NCDMB, NLNG activate E-Marketplace for business opportunities

• Affirms Board’s mandate to support local companies

Capacity growth driver in the domestic petroleum industry, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has launched the business opportunity dashboard for all qualified players in the sector.

Executive Secretary, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, declared at the ongoing Nigerian Oil and Gas Energy Week (NOG 2023) in Abuja that the roll out of the Oil and Gas E-Marketplace would be carried out in phases until the platform captures all the niche plays in the full industry loop.

The project which was launched in collaboration with the Nigeria LNG Limited would now logically start with business opportunities from the activities of the gas liquefaction and exporting company. He said the tender opportunities from the operations of NLNG would now be rolled out on the Oil and Gas E-Market Place.

The E-Marketplace, The Oracle Today reports, would from one of the critical regulatory implementation tools for actualization of key provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act 2010.

Section 106 of the NOGICD Act defines the “Oil and Gas E-Market Place” as a virtual platform for buyers and sellers of goods and services in the oil and gas industry that allows for speedy and transparent transactions.” The E-Marketplace would be the first time a working policy implementation instrument has been developed for transparent, fast, automated and efficient tendering process since the enactment of the Act in 2010.

Speaking at the Nigerian Content Seminar at NOG 2023, Engr. Wabote said a joint working committee comprising members of the company and the Board was formed to co-create the Blueprint for the Phase-1 implementation of the E-Marketplace, while subsequent phases of the project will include members of the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS), Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), and the other stakeholder groups.

He commended the Management and Staff of Nigeria LNG Ltd for being ever ready to comply with the provisions of the NOGICD Act and for demonstrating genuine willingness to partner with the Board in various initiatives, recalling that the Service Level Agreements (SLA) was initiated with the company in 2017, to drive the timely approvals of requests submitted to the Board.

Engr Wabote explained that the NCDMB uses the Nigerian Content Seminar to discuss the various elements of the NOGICD Act with industry operators, service providers and other stakeholders in the industry, noting that this year’s seminar provided a platform to clarify the provisions of the NOGICD Act (2010), the Ministerial Regulations, guidelines, tools and initiatives.

Speaking on various segments of the NOGICD Act, Wabote quoted section 70(h) to justify the Board’s assistanceof local contractors and support of Nigerian companies to develop their capabilities and capacities in furtherance of Nigerian Content development in the Oil and Gas industry.

The clarity was meant to correct the wrong perception held in some quarters that the Board was acting outside its mandate by supporting and partnering companies in strategic business ventures.

Wabote emphasized that this provision is “at the heart of developing local capacities and capabilities in the oil and gas industry.”

According to him, this provision explains why the Board embarked on several initiatives including the funding support and other initiatives that are directed toward developing both human capital and infrastructure.

He listed some of the initiatives to include the $300 million Nigerian Content Intervention Fund with the Bank of Industry (BoI), the $100 million Matched Fund with NEXIM Bank, the $50 million R&D Intervention Fund and the $50 million NOGAPS Manufacturing Fund.

Other support provided by the NCDMB to local companies, he listed, include partnering with local businesses to establish modular refineries, gas processing plants, LPG storage facilities, base oil production plant, LPG depot and refilling plants, and others with clear exit plans once the target goals are achieved.

The NCDMB boss observed that there are severe challenges facing manufacturing in the oil and gas industry, which is why, he explained, the Board is developing the NOGAPS Industrial Parks to provide modern infrastructure using the “sites and services” model to support in-country manufacturing.

He reported that the Industrial Parks are at various stages of development in seven states namely Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, and Ondo states, hinting that “the NOGAPS Industrial Parks at Odukpani in Cross River state and the one at Emeyal-1 in Bayelsa state are both at advanced stages of completion and will commence operations in 2024.”

While appreciating the contribution of the Shell Petroleum Development Company Joint Venture and the ExxonMobil Joint Venture for their contributions to the industrial parks using the CDI programmes, heconfirmed that the Board has commenced the allocation of manufacturing shopfloors and services plots at the Odukpani and Emeyal-1 parks to qualified applicants.

Speaking at the panel session titled “Exploring Emerging Opportunities for Local Content in Achieving Energy Security,” the Director Planning Research and Statistics, NCDMB, Mr. Abdulmalik Halilu emphasized the need to focus on manufacturing as a veritable strategy for promoting local content in the oil and gas industry.  

The reason is because manufacturing accounts for 54 percent of the spend on major oil and gas projects.

He hinted that the Board’s programmes for supporting manufacturing included developmental and monitoring interventions. The developmental interventions, he said, include the Nigerian Content Manufacturing Initiative (NCMI) which is the precursor of the Nigerian Content Equipment Certification (NCEC).

He added that the programmes are geared to compel original equipment manufacturers to rethink their business models and to begin the manufacture some components of their equipment in Nigeria.

Other initiatives, he counted, include the Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme (NOGaPS), which he explained is designed to enhance efficiency of manufacturing and cut off entry barriers.

Also speaking, the Director in charge of Capacity Building at the NCDMB, Dr Ama Ikuru said that the government should address the challenges that militate against manufacturing in the oil and gas industry.

Some of the challenges, he noted, include providing dedicated power and fixing roads that lead to manufacturing facilities.