Oil, gas industry's 10-year strategic roadmap expands content – Wabote

The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr. Simbi Wabote, said the launch of its 10-year strategy roadmap is aimed at increasing Nigerian content in the oil and gas industry to 70 percent by 2027.

Wabote said this in his keynote address at the 11th Nigerian Content Forum (NCF), with the theme "Deepening the Nigerian Content Opportunity in the Decade of the Gas," in Uyo on Tuesday.

He said since the launch of the strategic roadmap, the board is proud of the achievements realized in the last five years, in spite of the general and specific challenges faced across the oil and gas industry locally and globally.

"We are now midway through the 10-year strategic roadmap, and we are back here to provide feedback on the journey so far in our quest to deepen Nigerian content in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

"Since 2018, our objective has always been to give status report of the various initiatives to industry stakeholders using the annual forum as a key platform.

"We are proud of the achievements realized in the last five years despite the general and specific challenges faced across the oil and gas industry locally and globally.

"It is gratifying that the push for Nigerian content, as envisaged in our 10-year strategic roadmap, has continued to yield results in the last five years," he said.

He said that the Nigerian Content Level in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry was 54 percent based on "our monitoring and evaluation of industry activities, which have brought the average in the last five years to 44 percent Nigerian Content Level."

The executive secretary added that out of the 96 initiatives under the strategic roadmap, the board had completed 77, largely in the short- and medium-term categories, as of November 2022.

In his goodwill message, the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Mr. Mele Kyari, said NNPC has concluded plans to fix the Trans-Morocco Pipelines from Nigeria across 11 countries for onward transmission to the rest of the world.

Kyari expressed the hope that the investment, when completed, would engender prosperity in Nigeria and other partner countries.

He said that the importance of gas as the major driver of the world energy needs could not be over emphasised, adding that the importance of energy transition is hinged on effective and seamless transformation for efficient utilisation.

"Gas resources provide the opportunity to power the global economy in a sustainable manner because gas is the enabler of the energy transition."

"That is why we are focusing with our partners to make sure we create the necessary infrastructure to bring gas to the surface, process it, and convert it to the value it can provide."

"Therefore, in deepening gas utilisation, we decided to focus on in-country utilisation, and that's critical to us," Kyari said.

Declaring the event open, Gov. Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom, said the theme of the conference is apt because it draws attention to gas utilisation while fostering the growth of Nigerian Content Implementation within the energy industry.

Emmanuel, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Mr. Moses Ekpo, said since there had been a global shift from fossil fuels to renewable energies, industry players in the country have to continually engage in discussions to ensure that the country is ready for this transition.

"The theme of this year's meeting draws attention to gas utilization while fostering the growth of Nigerian Content Implementation within the energy industry."

"It will also help in assessing our commitment as a nation to contribute to the development of the petroleum and energy industries," Emmanuel said.

Emmanuel said that State Government is making concerted efforts in promoting local content in industrialisation drive which has led to massive training of indigenes outside the country to enable them manage critical operations in Aviation, Health, and Manufacturing.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 11th Nigerian Content Forum conference attracted experts from the oil and gas industry across the country.