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By Adewale Sanyaolu
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board(NCDMB) has canvassed the establishment of an African Energy Services Network to foster collaboration among member states of the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) for better value retention in the continent’s oil and gas projects.
Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr. Felix Ogbe, made the recommendation at the 4th edition of APPO Conference and Exhibition on local content in Africa, in Brazzaville, Congo.
Ogbe who is Nigeria’s representative to APPO’s Executive Board stated that the Network would add a fresh layer to the strategic vision that birthed such continental organisations as APPO, African Energy Bank, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), whose collective focus is the advancement of intra-country trade, local content and cross-border linkages to achieve energy security and rapid economic development in Africa.
He added that the Network would be a framework where fabrication, manufacturing, and engineering hubs across the continent complement each other, creating a pan-African industrial ecosystem with existing capacities of Nigeria available to drive transformative processes.
He expressed satisfaction with the establishment of the African Energy Bank, an initiative championed by APPO and Afreximbank for competitive financing in aid of oil and gas projects in Africa.
He promised that “NCDMB stands ready to collaborate, providing technical expertise and project linkages to make the Bank’s objectives a reality,” while urging all stakeholders to demonstrate equal commitment to the Bank to facilitate real growth and sustenance.
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The NCDMB boss informed the audience which comprised oil and gas policymakers and stakeholders from across the continent that Nigeria has built world-class infrastructure, such as the multibillion-dollar Egina FPSO Integration Yard at LADOL Free Trade Zone, Lagos, “a first-of-its-kind facility in Africa,” which successfully integrated a Floating Production Storage and Offloading Unit, with a storage capacity of 200,000 barrels of crude oil. The facility can serve as a regional hub for FPSO and modular platform integration for the Gulf of Guinea and beyond.
He also mentioned that NCDMB had established oil and gas parks in Bayelsa and Cross River States, to host manufacturing companies producing equipment and components for the oil and gas industry, and thus offering opportunities for small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) and prospective investors to participate. The NCDMB’s Centre for Research and Development (R&D) programme fosters collaboration between the academia, industry, and start-ups, and is also available for joint African research initiatives to develop African solutions for African problems, he added.
Giving further insight on the Board’s programmes, the Executive Secretary, said the Board, through its Human Capacity Development (HCD) programmes, has trained over 20,000 Nigerians in specialised oil and gas skills, which could serve as a model replicable across African energy-producing countries.
He indicated that Nigerian service companies are desirous to forge joint ventures with their African counterparts to deliver engineering, marine, fabrication, and digital energy services.
In addition, cross-border investments in modular refineries, gas processing plants, and local manufacturing could be promoted.
Other senior officials of the Board made presentations and participated in panel discussions, where they showcased Nigeria’s successful local content models, drawing commendations and interests from different countries eager to understudy and implement some of Nigeria’s models in their industries.
One of the sessions explored NCDMB’s journey on local content, lessons learnt and experiences. The panel was moderated by the General Manager, Corporate Communications NCDMB, Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, with the panelists including; Director, Corporate Services, Dr. Abdulmalik Halilu, General Manager, Finance and Accounts, Mr. Mubarak Zubair, General Manager, Monitoring and Evaluation, Upstream, Mr. Silas Omomehin Ajimijaye and the Managing Director, Cypher Crescent Ltd, Mr. ThankGod Egbe. Other officials who participated in similar panel discussions and discussed the Board’s programmes included the Manager, Board’s Projects in the Zonal Coordination Division, Mr. Adebayo Joseph and Manager, Facilities and Logistics, Mr. Kamsalem Mohammed.
