By Patience Chat Moses
The Management of Aradel Holdings Plc has reiterated its commitment and support to indigenization in the Nigeria’s oil industry.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aradel, Mr Adegbite Falade, disclosed this recently when he led senior leaders of the energy company on a courtesy visit to the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Felix Ogbe.
In a statement , the Company noted that a visit was part of efforts aimed at nurturing local expertise for the benefit of the local industry.
Giving a company overview, he emphasised Aradel’s commitment to local content.
Falade revealed that Aradel has been operating in Nigeria since 2005 with a 100 per cent Nigerian workforce, creating significant value as an indigenous company.
He informed the NCDMB Executive Secretary that Aradel had provided sector leadership over the years, especially through its Host Community Development Trust (HCDT), which was the template for the Host Community Trust structure enshrined in the Petroleum Industry Act.
He mentioned that the Ogbele Refinery and the Gas Processing Plant helped Aradel to eliminate routine flaring, leading to the company being awarded the Global Gas Flare Reduction Excellence Award from the World Bank in 2015.
He reiterated Aradel’s support of indigenisation and its history of nurturing local expertise for the benefit of the industry and the country at large.
Falade expressed the Firm’s support for the ideals of the local content board, adding that the company would continue to ensure all its vendors possess the relevant NCDMB documentation and certification while adhering to its regulations.
On its financial obligations in respect of the one per cent Nigerian Content Development Fund levy, he assured Ogbe that Aradel would continue to fulfil its obligations promptly.
The Nigerian Content Development Intervention Fund is a Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB) fund managed by the Bank of Industry Limited (BOI).
The fund is designed to achieve the following strategic objectives:
To increase indigenous participation in the oil and gas industry, and build local capacity and competencies,
to promote the growth and development of Nigerian Content in activities connected with sectors of the Nigerian oil and gas Industry.
It also aims to deepen the creation of linkages to other sectors of the national economy and boost industry contributions to the growth of Nigeria’s National Gross Domestic Product and to address persistent funding challenges that have hindered the capacity and growth of local service providers in oil and gas.
The fund will also facilitate the growth of community-based companies in the upstream oil and gas sector and spur productivity and job creation in the Oil and Gas Industry as well as attract investment capital into the sector and boost contribution of the sector to Nigeria’s economic growth.
Responding, Ogbe stated that Aradel Holdings had the support of the board, assuring the team that NCDMB was focused on creating an enabling environment to allow local companies to progress.
While acknowledging the commitment and financial prudence of Aradel, he charged the company to be open to sharing knowledge with other indigenous companies that also want to invest in modular refineries in the hope that the importation of refined products will reduce considerably shortly as more companies produce refined products locally.