The Nigerian Content Department Management Board (NCDMB) has asked International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in Nigeria to provide it with concrete strategies that they had developed and adopted to ensure compliance with provisions of the Nigerian Content Act.
The board also charged the IOCs to come up with their individual strategies of engaging Nigerian service companies, utilizing Nigerian owned marine vessels and complying with the expatriate quota provisions of the Act.
It maintained that such move is geared to encourage foreign and local investors who may be reluctant to establish facilities in Nigeria with a view to bridge capacity gaps but needs an assurance that existing facilities are being patronized by the industry.
The Executive Secretary of the board, Earnest Nwapa gave out this directive in a statement made available on Thursday in Abuja by the media officer of NCDMB, Obinna Ezeobi.
Nwapa who was on a recent visit to the headquarters of Chevron and ExxonMobil in Lagos stated that the Federal Government is quite involved in the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGIC) Act as a way to retain the bulk of the annual expenditure of the oil and gas industry in the country and primarily create employment for millions of Nigerians on the platform of the oil and gas operations.
He noted that most countries around the world are currently working to bring back jobs for their nationals in the wake of the recent global economic crisis, adding that the Federal Government’s agenda need the support of all stakeholders.
While lamenting the practice of importing goods and services that are used in the industry from abroad, Nwapa stated that such practice impoverishes the people and eliminates opportunities to develop human and infrastructural capacity.
He said: “Each 10,000 Metric Tonne platform awarded to be fabricated in the traditional Asian fabrication yard translates to the export of 1 billion dollar capital from the Nigerian economy; 5000 Nigerian jobs over the two-year engineering and fabrication period and opportunity to train 1000 other Nigerians within same time frame.
“Such decisions also results in lost opportunity to upgrade existing and build new yards, cripples opportunity to attract investment for facilities and lose opportunities to grow partnerships between local and foreign companies.”
He stressed that a drastic change in the way the industry has been run for decades must be initiated with compliance to provisions of the Act to achieve government’s aspirations.
On insinuations that the delay in the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law is creating uncertainties for new projects and constraining the implementation of the Nigerian Content Act, Nwapa charged the industry to use the ongoing operations in the industry to comply with the Act.
He further assured that the implementation of the Act will not impede the operations of the industry, but warned that the board will be forced to enforce the provisions of the Act if operators do not begin to comply.
