The recently held 10th Practical Nigerian Content Conference, themed “Driving Nigerian Content in the Dawn of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA)”, was as engaging as it was thought-provoking. Attracting all categories of stakeholders in the industry, the two-day event, ended with a call for the successful implementation of the on-going reforms in the industry.
By Eddy Ochigbo
Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, was agog recently when it played host to the 2021 Practical Nigerian Content (PNC) forum at the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB) headquarters in the city centre.
The event, which attracted renowned speakers from all parts of the country was a serene platform for experts to brainstorm on Nigerian content, as well as on networking opportunities in oil and gas business.
Re-echoing the prolonged issue of environmental degradation in Bayelsa State due to oil exploration, Governor Duoye Diri, while declaring open the all-important conference, called on the “movers and shakers” in the industry to factor host communities into the Nigerian content agenda for the overall development of the nation.
“Local content is also securing direct and indirect opportunities for locals and fostering the development of local skills, local manpower, as well as local development. At the moment, Bayelsa State is establishing top quality technical schools and vocational technical colleges, and we are investing heavily on local content to ensure that local content leads to local commitment”, Governor Diri remarked.
He also pointed out that the Nigerian content law and the PIA are essential to the foundation and success of the nation’s oil and gas industry.
While stressing that peace and security remain the bedrock for the survival of all businesses, the governor called on the powers-that-be in the industry to make equity their watchword in the implementation of the new petroleum industry law because “we want a Bayelsa State that is non-violent, where peace prevails at all times.”
Diri assured that his administration would continue to advocate for a peaceful and secured Bayelsa that everyone would be proud of, so that together, “we” can build the state and the nation at large.
His words: “We in Bayelsa State are absolutely committed to working with the Federal Government and to be part and parcel of the activities of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
“We will continue to collaborate with all stakeholders in the industry and provide enabling environment for sustainable growth of the country. But we all need to add value to Bayelsa State, which is endowed with great human and natural resources.
“I therefore appeal to critical stakeholders to bring local contentment into local content, as such a step would bring abundant benefits not only to Bayelsa State but to the country in general.”
In his opening address, the executive secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, described the conference as one of the key communication platforms that the Board uses to engage stakeholders on the activities of NCDMB, adding that since the launch of its 10-year strategic roadmap in 2018, the Board has utilized the conference to share “our report” card on the status of our journey to 70% Nigerian Content in the oil and gas industry.
His words: “Let me use this opportunity to once again congratulate the distinguished members of both chambers of the National Assembly and my boss, the honorable minister of state for petroleum resources, Chief Timipre Sylva; and His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, for their role in ensuring that the Petroleum Industry Act became a reality, which has further reinforced the role of NCDMB in the oil and gas industry, and we are poised to fully utilize the opportunity provided to derive maximum benefit for our country.”
He also explained that NCDMB’s vision is to act as a catalyst for profitable and sustainable industrialization of the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.
According to Wabote, “as part of efforts aimed at achieving gas development in line with Mr. President’s declaration of the ‘Decade of Gas,’ we have focused some of our initiatives and partnerships on the gas sector.
“In collaboration with Rungas, we are constructing a 1.2 million-unit-per-annum capacity LPG composite cylinder manufacturing plant in Bayelsa and Lagos States and factory acceptance of the equipment is in progress at the moment.
“We are also collaborating with Chimons to build a 5,000MT LPG loading and receiving terminal in Koko, Delta State. We teamed up with Butane Energy Limited to build LPG storage/bottling plants and LPG depots in Kaduna, Bauchi, Katsina, Kano, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, Gombe, Zamfara, Jigawa and Abuja, while we will be commissioning the first 100MT storage and bottling plant in Katsina in the next few days.” And, surely, the Katsina plant was commissioned as promised.
On his part, the minister of state for petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, lauded the NCDMB for its immense contributions to the nation’s oil and industry. Represented by the pioneer executive secretary of NCDMB, Dr. Famous Aseigbua, Chief Sylva expressed delight over the remarkable milestones made by the Engr Wabote-led Board in the past decade.
“I am delighted to deliver this address at the 10th edition of the Practical Nigerian Content (PNC) forum organized by NCDMB, in collaboration with the Bayelsa State government. It is correct to say that from little beginnings in 2010, the PNC has become a permanent feature in the calendar of Nigerian oil and gas industry.
“PNC presents a platform for stakeholders to meet annually to take stock of Nigerian content performance, discuss challenges and chart fresh course of action for industry growth and sustainability”, Sylva stated.
While hoping that the annual conference would continue to evolve in the coming years to attract more participants from all parts of Africa and beyond to exchange ideas and demonstrate expertise in local content practice, the minister said the Buhari administration has adopted a strategic action plan to immortalize Oloibiri and industrialize Bayelsa State through the establishment of the Oil and Gas Museum and Research Center in Oloibiri.
Other strategic actions by the Federal Government to industrialize Bayelsa State, he revealed, include the various oil and gas investments now crystalizing in various parts of the state, like the Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme (NOGAPS), the Brass Fertilizer Project and Methanol Plant, among others.
The minister also expressed that “the great accomplishments of the NCDMB as well as the activities of other key agencies under the Ministry of Petroleum Resources have positioned our ministry as a top performer in the presidential scorecard, assessed by the office of the secretary to the government of the federation.”
Group managing director (GMD) of NNPC Limited, Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari, in his goodwill message, which was delivered virtually, recalled how eleven years ago NCDMB began a great energy transition, which he said, has today created tremendous opportunities in the oil and gas sector.
According to Kyari, the sustained efforts by NCDMB would no doubt make the nation’s energy transition process key into the new way of doing things successfully.
“Supporting our local capacity is key and the NNPC is proud to be a strong partner of NCDMB,” Kyari remarked.
Meanwhile, various speakers drawn from multinational oil companies, NNPC Limited, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, and NCDMB, among others, commonly agreed that the signing into law of the PIA by President Muhammadu Buhari in August this year is a watershed in the annals of the Nigerian oil and gas industry, as the new law has the potentials of revolutionizing the sector.
The experts believed that though the nation is transiting to gas, Nigeria still needs oil, because it is still very relevant. However, they added that the industry also needs to focus on expanding domestic gas use to boost productivity and profitability.
The 2021 10th Nigerian Content Conference may have come and gone, but one significant take-away from the conference owes much to the fact that behind the beautiful and tidy streets of Yenagoa, still lie flooded homes and shanties of helpless residents and indigenes, earnestly yearning for access to basic amenities.
A concerned resident told our correspondent that despite government’s lack of political will to address their plight, host communities would continue to call on the authorities for the provision of portable water, healthcare, electricity, and other basic needs for the overall wellbeing of all and sundry.