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NCDMB seeks agenda-driven partnership on research development

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. Partners 15 firms, investors to develop gas projects

.Disburses over $293.3m to 61 firms

 

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has called for agenda-driven partnership to achieve common vision on Research and Development (R&D) delivery in the oil and gas industry.

The board also stated that  Bank of Industry (BoI), its fund manager, has so far disbursed 293.3 million dollars and N32.8 billion to 61 firms under its Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCIF).

The board emphasised the need to attract sustainable funding as a major tool needed for R & D, innovation and entrepreneurship to create value in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

Mr Abdulmalik Halilu, the General Manager, Research, Statistics and Development Division, NCDMB made the call in Abuja at a Nigerian content capacity building workshop for media stakeholders.

The workshop has its theme as “Enhancing Media Competencies to Support Nigerian Content in a Gas Economy’’.

He said the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act 2010 established NCDMB as the sole agency of Federal Government responsible for driving Nigerian Content in the oil and gas industry.

 

According to him, the oil sector is a global business that does not compromise standard, hence there is need to ensure optimal capacity and utilisation of specified schedule to achieve local content standard.

 

He said its 10-year R&D roadmap anchored on eight success pillar for systematic development research and innovation, thereby underscored the need to have competitive and well-structured research and development system.

 

Halilu said the roadmap was aimed at developing and maintaining healthy pipelines of competent researchers and translating research results into products and services that would be deployed for industry application.

 

He said its goal was to have an effect on  inclusive, transparent, solution and demand driven R&D governance structure to drive its delivery.

 

He said the essence of making provision of it in the act was to ensure R&D ecosystem, which captured the needs of the industry was driven by research.

 

He underscored social media’s relevance in identifying professionals, sources of data, literature review, data collection, pitching, product validation, dissemination of research findings.

 

“There is need for research and documentation dialogue providing a networking platform for project promoters, researchers, and regulators to dialogue on imperatives of enabling R&D ecosystem to National development.

 

On information sharing, he encouraged using various media platforms to share information on reearch breakthroughs with high prospects of commercialisation.

 

He listed five sponsored R& D excellence centres of the board located in five institutions to include Federal University of Technology Minna, Federal University of Technology Akure, Niger Delta University, Bayelsa, Federal University of Technology Owerri and Modibbo Adamawa University of Technology, Yola.

 

Mr Ahmed Sa’id, Faculty Head, Kaduna Media Academy also exposed the media practitioners on Journalism Entrepreneurship tagged: “Beyond the Bylines: Leveraging to Earn More’’.

 

The workshop featured other presentations including ‘Linking business journalism to community concerns’’ by Mr Chido Nwakanma, an Adjunct Faculty, Pan Atlantic University and remarks by Mr Obinna Ezeobi, the Chief Supervisor, Corporate Communications, NCDMB.

Also, The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has partnered 15 firms and investors to develop critical gas projects in the oil and gas sector of the economy.

The NCDMB said 70 per cent of its investments are on gas-based projects, especially midstream and downstream gas and covered modular refining, gas processing, gas distribution, power generation, manufacturing and others.

Dr Ginah Ginah, General Manager, Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, NCDMB, listed the gas-based activities to include its partnership with Rungas, to produce 1.2 million Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) composite cylinders per annum in Bayelsa and Lagos states.

 

He said it was also collaborating with the NEDO Gas Processing Company in Kwale, Delta State, for the establishment of 80 million standard cubic feet per day (scfpd) gas processing plant and a 300 million scfpd gas gathering hub.

 

“The board is also working with Duport Midstream to establish an Energy Park at Egbokor, Edo State, which include a 40 million scfpd gas processing plant, 2,500 barrels per day modular refinery and 20 megawatts power plants.

 

“The board partnered with NNPC Ltd. to invest in brass fertiliser and establish 10,000 tonnes per day methanol production plant at Odioama, Brass, Bayelsa State just as we are investing with Triansel Gas Ltd in Koko, Delta State, to establish a 5,000 MT per day LPG storage and loading terminal facility,’’ he said

 

Ginah said it had supported Butane Energy Ltd to establish LPG Bottling Plants and Depots in Abuja and 10 northern states, including investment with the MOB Integrated Services on 500 MT Inland LPG terminal construction in Dikko, Niger State.

 

The project, he said, would include the construction of a cylinder refurbishment plant, procurement of 80,000 bottles of LPG cylinders and acquisition of distribution assets.

 

Another partnership, according to him, is with Southfield Petroleum to establish 200 million mscf gas processing plant at Utorogu, Delta State, to produce 123,000 MT per annum of LPG, about 10 per cent of current LPG demand nationwide.

 

He added that the board was collaborating with Amal Technologies to set up a plant in Abuja to produce smart gas/smoke detector alarm devices.

 

Ginah said its partnerships and investment were backed by section 70 (h) of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.

 

This, he said, provided that NCDMB could: “assist local contractors and Nigerian companies to develop their capacities for attainment of developing Nigerian content in the industry.”

 

“As you are aware, President Muhammadu Buhari declared 2021-2030 as Nigeria’s Decade of Gas and to fully exploit the nation’s abundant gas resources to accelerate the development of the economy.

 

“This declaration aligns fully with the rising global demand for cleaner energy sources and the demand for the reduction of global carbon emissions through the reduction in the utilisation of fossil fuels.

 

“The Federal Government’s strategy is to use gas as Nigeria’s transition fuel. The Ministry of Petroleum Resources has backed this position with bold policies such as the National Gas Expansion Programme, Gas Network Code and Flares Commercialisation programme.

 

“As a responsive agency, the NCDMB has also taken deliberate steps to actualise the Federal Government’s declarations in gas and other aspects of the oil and gas value chain.

 

“Above all, the investments by the NCDMB are helping to create employment opportunities for Nigerian youths, catalyse the local economy and achieve the Nigerian Content 10-year Strategic Roadmap,’’ he said.

 

In a presentation, Mr Chido Nwakanma, an Adjunct Faculty, Pan Atlantic University, called for a sustained and representative reporting in the oil and gas industry.

 

Nwakanma, while urging media practitioners to strive to enlighten Nigerians on happenings in the oil and gas sector and global community said the sector had primacy in Nigeria because of its economic significance.

 

He said the reportage should enable closer ties between host communities and the industry, including assessment of companies in the sector, providing required reports and actions as specified in the NOGICD Act, Act No 2 of 2010.

 

“The media asking for outlines and details of compliance to the Act would boost representation and participation in the sector by Nigerians,’’ he said.

 

The General Manager, NCIF and Treasury, Dr. Obinna Ofili, said the total balance with BoI was 31.5 million dollars and N3.11 billion as at November, while total money creation by loan disbursements so far amounted to about 25 million dollars and N34 billion respectively.

 

Ofili added that reports from Bol indicated that the NCIF managed by the bank till date had recorded zero per cent non- performing loan (NPL).

 

The NCIF boss said the board was proud to have experienced and skilled counterpart, saying Bol was the leading Development Finance Institution (DFI) in Nigeria with NPL below five per cent, a feat which he described as unprecedented in Nigeria.

 

“NCDMB collaborated with development banks with focus on development and not just profit. NEXIM Bank is focused on financing companies to break into the service sector in Africa and become big corporates,” he said.

 

He explained that the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF) was a special fund created to finance Nigerian content development in the oil and gas industry.

 

‘’Covered entities are required to deduct and remit obligations accruing there into the Nigeria Content Development Fund, while covered entities have responsibility to ensure their affiliates and contractors comply with the provisions of the Act,” he said.

He maintained that NCDMB was empowered to manage and administer the fund, which was deployed to increase capacity and capability of Nigerians and Nigerian companies operating in the oil and gas industry.

 

Making further clarification on the NCDF, Ofili said the NCDF could not be interpreted as the same as, or placed in the same basket with the funds/revenues of the Board.

 

He said revenues of the board included investment income, (appropriation proceeds when the board was still government-funded), grants, donations and loans.

 

According to him, seed funds for the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund is sourced from the NCDF, which is derived from section 104 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act 2010.

 

He described some of the interventions by NCDMB as catalysts for manufacturing and production, saying that the investments catalysed local refining from the first modular refinery in Nigeria currently refining 10,000 barrels per day.

 

‘‘Equity investments have instigated local industrial activities in areas hitherto not in Nigeria, such as base oil, industrial paints and pipe. “Investments are at various stages of implementation but most are yet to commence yielding dividends.

 

“NCI fund compliments equity funds availed by NCDMB to bridge gaping financing gaps in critical ventures.

 

“The investments span over 16 states of the Nigerian Federation and are expected to spread to several others in the near future,” he added.

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