*Simbi Kesiye-Wabote.
Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, has assured that the country would record an impressive local participation in the upcoming NLNG Train-7 project.
Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, specifically said that 50 percent of the whole project activities of Train-7 would be done through Nigerian business and must be in-country.
Wabote said NCDMB will continue to give hope to Nigerians and the industry and ensure that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, there were still opportunities for people to look forward to and invest.
He also explained that building local capacities takes some time and that Nigerian Content was not about Nigerianization of personnel, rather it focusses on domestication and domiciliation of industry activities.
“When we executed Train 1-6, there were minimal Nigerian participation. But today the Nigerian Content and out-country scope is split 50/50.
“Most of the cryogenic areas would be done outside the country because we do not have capacities in those areas. But 50 percent of the whole project activities would be done through Nigerian business and must be in-country.
“That is the value that would be retained in the Nigerian economy. We would achieve more in the upstream sector of the project because we have developed capacities in that area.”
The NCDMB boss stated that the COVID-19 pandemic was the biggest test and confirmation of the need to develop local capacities in the oil and gas and other key sectors of the economy.
Wabote said the pandemic forced nations to depend on their local productions to survive, expressing delight that local capacities developed in the oil and gas industry proved capable of sustaining crude oil productions.
He further disclosed that First E&P Company -an indigenous oil operator- completed its project and started producing oil during the pandemic because of local content.
“NCDMB insisted that they (First E&P) must build platform in-country. They thanked us later for that decision because their platform was completed even during the pandemic and deployed to work. If the project were being executed overseas, it would have been suspended during the period.”
