09 July 2013, Lagos – Shell Companies in Nigeria and Chevron Nigeria Limited have canvassed local manufacturing of Line Pipes for use in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, saying this is the only way the industry would attain the projected targets in the Nigerian Content Act.
Speaking separately during a recent ground-breaking ceremony for Line Pipe Mill and Coating Facility being constructed in Ikaye Community in Ologbo area of Edo State by Technova Africa Group Limited, the two International Oil Companies, IOCs, also restated their commitment to the Nigerian Content initiatives of the federal government.
In a remark on behalf of the Shell Companies in Nigeria, the Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, SNEPCo, Mr. Chike Onyejekwe, noted that Shell’s support for in-country manufacturing of goods and materials was in line with the company’s strategic approach to ensure in-country development of capacity and capability.
Onyejekwe said without the setting up of Line Pipe manufacturing companies in Nigeria, there was no way the oil industry would achieve the projected domestication of jobs and industry expenditure.
“If we do not set up this kind of manufacturing company, there is no way we can achieve the projected domestication of activities in the oil and gas industry, and the maximisation of the local content value. So, the production of Line Pipes from this facility will go a long way in moving the industry towards attaining the targets set by the Nigerian Content Act,” he said.
“Our company, Shell Companies in Nigeria, has continued to support the development of Nigerian companies and encourage investors to embrace the opportunities created by the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, especially in the area of in-country manufacturing of goods and materials in the oil and gas industry,” he added.
Onyejekwe stated that Shell would continue to encourage the promotion of locally-made goods and Nigerian service companies, as well as the development of local capacity and capability in its production operations, projects and well engineering activities.
Speaking on behalf of her company, the Nigerian Content Manager at Chevron Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Yinka Sokoya, pledged the continued commitment of Chevron to local content development in Nigeria.
“It (development of local content) is the future; it is the way forward and there is no going back. I believe that this project is going to be of immense benefit to this community and indeed, the whole of this country,” she said, and also assured the promoters of the Line Pipe project of Chevron’s support as they moved the project forward.
Also speaking, the General Manager in charge of Nigerian Content at Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, Mr. Igo Weli, said the project would create employment opportunity for young Nigerians.
“We are here because if you look at the World Bank report on Nigeria, which was released last month, there was a paradox. The report said that Nigeria’s economy has been growing in terms of micro-economics – the GDP growth in the last 7 years is seven per cent in average. But at the same time, unemployment rose from 12 per cent to 24 per cent between 2006 and 2013,” he said.
Weli said the implication of the report was that the country’s economic growth was not being translated into jobs and wealth creation for young Nigerians.
– Ejiofor Alike, This Day.
