ENACTMENT and successful implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act is said to be responsible for the quantum leap Nigeria is experiencing in the infrastructure development in the sector.
According to a report released recently by CWC Group, a UK-based energy and infrastructure consulting firm, Nigerian content in the Nigerian oil and gas industry grew from around 5 percent to 18 percent, and 89.2 percent of marine vessels were either built in Nigeria or owned by Nigerians. This, the report said, resulted in a 40 percent increase in domestic fabrication facilities.
“In just one year, Shell Producing Companies in Nigeria awarded $2.4 billion worth of contracts to indigenous companies and Total launched the Total Supplier’s Financing Scheme worth $7.5 billion to be made available through Nigerian banks, aimed at bridging the gap between local vendors, suppliers and financial institutions,” the group further stressed in its report.
In Q2 of 2014, Nigerian firms Taleveras and Aiteo placed the highest bid for Shell’s OML 29 at the cost of $2.85 billion. In the same year, Oando Energy Resources completed its landmark acquisition of ConocoPhillips’ onshore and offshore businesses in Nigeria for $1.5 billion.
“The profile of the Nigerian oil and gas industry has gone through greater transformation than seen in previous decades; there are more indigenous players in the industry than ever before, a wider pool of skilled Nigerian professionals and indigenous asset ownership has increased steadily as has the domiciliation of manufacturing and fabrication,” said Denzil Amagbe Kentebe, executive secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
In another development, Nigeria received about $5 billion of oil revenues in the third quarter of 2014. In the last five years, NOGICDA has remained an impactful legislation for the nation’s oil and gas industry, with some people calling it the most significant since the Petroleum Act of 1969.
NOGICDA prescribes that indigenous operators be given first consideration in the award of contracts and licences, as well as first consideration for training and employment opportunities, and that preference must be given to domestically manufactured goods.