Featured Gas Oil

Over 1000 delegates attend NOGOF 2019

…NCDMB lists 80 opportunities worth $100bn

…FG to create network, timelines for identified projects

… Communities to form cooperatives for Modular Refineries

By Shile GIWA

Over 1000 delegates including the Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon Seriake Dickson;

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu; Managing

Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Mr. Osagie Okunbor

and many other dignitaries participated in the just ended 2 nd edition of the Nigerian

Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) organised by the Nigerian Content

Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

The fair, which had the theme ‘’Maximizing Oil & Gas Industry for the Benefit of the

Nigerian People’’ was held at the NCDMB 1000 capacity conference hall.

Delivering his welcome address, the Executive Secretary NCDMB, Engr. Simbi

Kesiye Wabote said the Board had identified over 80 oil and gas opportunities that

would be developed by major international and indigenous operating companies in

the short and long term, with the estimated cumulative value of the projects

exceeding $100bn.

The projects are contained in the Compendium of Nigerian Content Opportunities in

the Oil and Gas Industry launched at the event. The projects and opportunities cover

the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors of the Nigerian oil and gas

sectors and were collated from presentations by various oil and gas companies at

the first edition of NOGOF in 2017 and updated at workshops organised by the

Board in October 2018.

Wabote explained that the compendium was intended to create a database of

Nigerian Content opportunities and help indigenous and potential investors prepare,

improve their capacities and capabilities to participate in available and upcoming

contracts and projects.

He added that the compendium gives the industry a five year outlook and enables

stakeholders to key into those opportunities. “Two years ago when we held this

workshop we talked about ExxonMobil’s Ibot, Total’s Ikike and NLNG Train 7. Today

they are going through the funnel and within the next few weeks they would take

Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) on Ikike and Ibot and before the end of the year

they would take FID on Train 7. We focus and follow through on those opportunities.

Every two years we roll on new opportunities and add to the compendium.”

In his comments, Kachikwu, who had just been re-elected as the President of the

African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) for a 3 rd term at the association’s

meeting in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, pointed out that the speedy development of

the identified $100bn opportunities would require the roles and contributions of

various entities, including the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) for

approvals, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for negotiations and the

oil companies, who would take FIDs, among others.

He promised that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources would midwife a special

arrangement that would involve every agency of government and entity that has a

role to play in the approval and development of the identified projects. “We must

avoid a situation whereby NCDMB might work very fast and gets to the goal post and

others are just taking off. We would create an arrangement that involves everybody

and be clear about the deliverables, timelines and opportunities and bring out

something which everyone can then drive.”

On government’s support for modular refineries as a strategy for ending crude oil

theft, vandalism and environmental degradation, Kachikwu hinted that the Ministry of

Petroleum would develop a policy that would encourage persons living in oil

producing communities to form cooperatives, with which they can set up and own

modular refineries. He said, “We would have some agreements with them to stop the

sabotage. We can work with NCDMB to put in a bit of funding. Then we put in

technical know-how, business structure around it and have a major shareholder who

is an entrepreneur. That way the locals get to participate, get jobs, polish their skills

sets, crude is paid for and not stolen and the environment is better dealt with.”

Speaking further the Minister expressed regret that the potentialities of the Nigerian

oil and gas sector was not being maximized and counselled stakeholders to

accelerate their activities because oil is a fast degenerating asset and developed

countries were already switching to cleaner energy options.

He also challenged industry players to strive for improvements in all facets of their

operations, insisting that Nigerian should be producing over 7m barrels of crude oil

every day and enough gas to meet its electricity needs. Kachikwu also posited that

the sector should have rapidly developing infrastructure, while oil bearing

communities ought to be well developed with proceeds from the sale of crude oil. He

encouraged Nigerian operators to move into other African countries and use our 60

years’ experience in the sector to lead the operations of their fields.

The Minister also commended the Executive Secretary of NCDMB for its numerous

achievements, particularly for the construction of the Board’s 17-storey headquarters

building.

He said ”the building is not just important to NCDMB but also for Bayelsa State,

because it had cried out for long that federal presence was not here. This is a big

federal presence. By the time they finish the power supply they are doing with AGIP,

you will have a near 100 percent supply of power to most of the Board’s facilities.”

The two-day fair featured several opportunity presentations, technical sessions and

exhibition of capacities.

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