Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has continued to play a leading role in the development and mainstreaming of local content in Nigerian oil and gas contracts. This was recently exemplified by what Nivafer Engineering and Construction Limited has been doing for the famous multinational oil and gas firm.
Recently, the Executive Secretary of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Wabote, lauded Nivafer for the local content accomplishments it recorded in fabricating a High-Pressure Fuel Gas Skid for SPDC at the Assa North gas project in-country.
The unveiling and load-out of the high-pressure fuel gas treatment skid for Assa North gas project was done in Lagos, where Wabote said that the Board is always pleased to celebrate achievements that have added value in-country and created job opportunities for Nigerians, no matter the size or scale of such projects.
Valuecahin learnt that the diverse capabilities developed by Nivafer include fabrication and coating of separation packages, manifold skids, process and modules, and heat exchangers. Others are metering skids, flare systems pig launchers and receivers, condensate stabilization trains and cladded pressure vessels. The company also has capacities for storage vessels; offshore anchor piles, floating roof tanks, LPG spherical tanks, structural steel, and pipe support.
The goal of NCDMB is ensure the achievement of 70 per cent Nigerian Content in oil and gas activities by the year 2027 from the current level of 42 per cent. Wabote hinted that in line with the commitment of SPDC in the signed Nigerian Content Compliance Certificate, hook-up engineering and tie-in services, inspections and integrity works, pre-commissioning and commissioning activities shall be executed with over 95 per cent Nigerian personnel with locally owned equipment and assets.
He also urged all operators and service providers in the industry to play active roles and avoid situations that are seen to contravene the provisions of the NOGICD Act.
In his welcome address, the Managing Director of Nivafer Engineering and Construction Limited, Engr. Chris Ijeli, eulogized NCDMB for the successes it has achieved through the implementation of the NOGICD Act of 2010.
He mentioned that the NOGICD Content Act has catalyzed increased capacities and capabilities, expertise, and growth in indigenous participation in the oil and gas sector. “What we have here is a major milestone in Nigerian Content Development and we have made significant progress in engineering and construction in the oil and gas industry”, Ijeli said.
Also speaking, the Project Engineer, SPDC, Engr. Afolabi Ojo, hailed Nivafer for delivering on the scope in ample time and with good quality, as well as setting a unique HSE standard during the fabrication stage. Ojo added that SPDC will continue to support Nigerian indigenous businesses to strive in-country as already established by the Local Content Act.
Elsewhere in the industry, major international operating oil and gas companies, notably SPDC, ExxonMobil Nigeria, and the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) have continued to make significant investments in support of the ongoing development of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme (NOGaPS).
In furtherance of this, NCDMB has initiated the Nigerian Content Sensitization Programme for Law Enforcement Agencies, with a view to strengthening the existing collaboration with various law enforcement organizations and sister agencies in order to leverage their expertise and partnership to accelerate Nigerian content compliance in the oil and gas industry.
NOGaPS, for instance, has been developed in conjunction with key operators in the oil and gas industry. Shell is known to have funded the provision of power and utility cables deployed at the oil and gas park located at Emeyal -1, Bayelsa State, while ExxonMobil provided the electrical infrastructure for the park at Odukpani in Cross River State.
Also, NAOC had earlier partnered with the Board to develop the 10-megawatt gas power plant that would supply electricity to the Bayelsa park when completed, in addition to providing uninterrupted electricity currently to the Nigerian Content Tower and some strategic infrastructure owned by the Bayelsa State Government.
The Executive Secretary also confirmed that the Board had signed an agreement with the Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria (GACN) to establish a gas-fired power plant at the Odukpani, park to provide the park with constant electricity. He assured that the power facility will be ready before the end of 2022, about the same time the Emeyal-1 and Odukpani parks would be completed, ahead of commencing operations in early 2023.
NCDMB is partnering with the Nigeria LNG Limited to develop the Brass Island Shipyard as a Capacity Development Initiative. Currently, the feasibility study, geotechnical survey, and site selection study have all been completed. In addition, the land valuation and perimeter survey have also been completed, with a plan to construct the shipyard in two phase.
The Head of Legal Services at NCDMB, Barr. Naboth Onyesoh, said “the Board recognizes the power of collaboration and the impetus it generates for the attainment of its mandate and that is why Compliance and Enforcement is one of the five pillars of the Board’s 10-year Strategic Roadmap, formulated to drive Nigerian content growth to 70 per cent by 2027.”
He maintained that since the oil and gas industry serves as the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy, all stakeholders of the industry should support the implementation of the Nigerian Content Act to ensure that Nigeria derives maximum value from the oil and gas industry, while it is still relevant in the global energy mix.