From Uche Usim, Abuja
As the government works to wean the country off imported technologies, the Managing Director TotalEnergies, Mr Michael Sangster has called for the sustenance of local content to help growth of the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.
Sangster stated this on Tuesday at the Chief Executive Officers roundtable at the ongoing 4th Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS), in Abuja themed: ‘From Crisis to Opportunities: New Approach To Future Of Hydrocarbons’.
Sangster, who spoke on the impact of local content policy on International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in the country said that the act had helped them make more impact in-country.
He explained that the Nigeria oil industry became proactive with the introduction of local content act, adding that with it should be sustained as efforts are being made to transit to cleaner energy..
He said: “The Industry has been proactive with the local content act, the act aided establishment of indigenous companies and creation of Jobs.
“The Egina project is a good product of local content and we are very proud of it because 70 per cent of the fabrication was done in country and they are quality and the facility is working well,” he said.
He urged the government to invest a good percentage of its revenue to support local content to help boost the economy that would drive regional development.
“We strongly believe that sustainability of the local content will help keep young people busy, “he said.
Also speaking at the event, the Chairman, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr Osagie Okunbor said that Nigeria was not in short of reserve
He spoke on ‘Harnessing the reserve: Gearing up infrastructure to boost natural gas production
He said: “Yes we want to grow our reserve but the challenge is producing the reserve for the benefit of the country, ” he noted.
He added that there was the need for enabling environment and infrastructure development, Santity of contracts and collaboration among stakeholders.
Okunbor commended the commitment of the National Assembly to the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill(PIB).
This, he said, would go a long way to bring about the needed investment and development needed in the sector.
He called on all stakeholders to support the move to give life to the Nigerian economy through gas value chain.
Also, Mr Monday Ovuede, Director joint venture Operations, Mid Africa Strategic Business Unit, Chevron Middle East, Africa and South American Region said with the right guidelines and policy, the sector would achieve the desired growth.
He said that the expansion of the gas pipeline was a good step in the right direction as provision of power was critical for growth and development.
He said the passage of the PIB would also drive investments in the Nigerian downstream oil and gas sector.