NCDMB, Indigenous Oil Producers Sign Agreement on Tendering Cycle

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Indigenous Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), have signed a Service Level Agreement (SLA), which would drive local content implementationandsimplify theprocurementandtenderingprocesses for oil and gas projects.

TheExecutiveSecretaryofNCDMB, Mr.SimbiKesiyeWabote,andtheagency’s General Manager, Projects Certification andAuthoriSationDivision(PCAD),Mr. Paul Zuhumben, signed on behalf of the Board at a ceremony held yesterday in Lagos.

The Chairman of the IPPG, Mr. Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, and the Managing Director, Newcross Petroleum Limited, Mr. Victor Sodje, signed for the operating companies.

The SLA was developed by the two parties in line with the provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act and in sync with the Board’s 10-Year Strategic Roadmap.

The Executive Secretary said the SLA would enhance the reduction of contracting timelines to six months to meet the target set by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu.

The agreement with the IPPG is the third in the series.

The Board had executed similar pacts with the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) and the Oil ProducersTrade Section (OPTS) - the umbrella body of major oil producing companies.

“This initiative was the first between a regulator and its key stakeholders in the Nigerian oil and gas industry,” Wabote added.

According to him, the SLA initiative has been very effective since its introduction in May 2017.

“It has enhanced the efficiency of the interface between the Board and industry operators. The example can be seen in the swift execution of some contracts in the oil and gas industry such as the LPG vessel supply contract awarded by NLNG, the NLNG Train-7 project, and several other contracts put in place by the international operating companies under the umbrella of the SLA signed with OPTS.