NCDMB Tasks Shell, Chevron, Total on Nigerian Content Law
The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote has tasked Shell, Chevron and Total to ensure compliance with the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act 2010.
Speaking when he visited some IOCs in Lagos to seek collaboration and make firm commitment to support upcoming projects, Wabote insisted that all projects must comply with the Act and charged the operating companies to ensure that their contractors and subcontractors remit one per cent of their contract value to the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF) as required by law.
Wabote, who visited Shell, Chevron and Total, disclosed that the upcoming projects will increase Nigeria’s crude oil production and create opportunities for the growth and development of Nigerian Content.
He informed the operators that NCDMB had adopted mechanisms that accelerate processing time for Nigerian Content plans, technical and commercial evaluation and issuance of Nigerian Content certificates.
He charged other entities involved in the contracting cycle to adopt similar strategies so the sector can achieve the six months contract processing target set by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu.
Wabote also expressed the Board’s readiness to partner with various stakeholders in resolving challenges they might have executing their projects.
According to him, the visits to operating and service companies around the country were conceived to engage stakeholders, and explain strategies adopted by the NCDMB to foster projects and ensure domiciliation of work scopes and maximisation of in-country capacities.
According to him, one of those strategies is the categorisation of service companies by their capacities, which he said, will now be used in the contracting process.
The Executive Secretary expressed delight with the establishment of pipe-coating facilities and steel pipe mills incountry and urged the operators to patronise the facilities.
He also warned that the Board would sanction operators that award contracts without approved Nigerian Content Compliance Certificates (NCCC).
He also informed the companies that the Board was developing a five-year Road Map for Nigerian Content development and pledged to share the final document with stakeholders for their inputs and identification of roles they will play in the actualisation.
At Shell, the team led by the Vice-President Nigeria and Gabon, Mr. Peter Costello discussed the company’s projects, including the Bonga Southwest / Aparo (BSWA). Shell officials also presented their plans to align the project timelines with the Board, achieve early Final Investment Decision (FID) and carry out joint contracting workshops and incountry capacity re-assessment/ revalidation among others.