Nigerian Content to reach 70% in 10yrs, NCDM

Success Damian:

Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has stated that efforts are in the pipeline to grow Nigerian Content in the gas and oil industry from its present 27% to 70^% in 10 years.

The board made the disclosure during a Capacity Building 

Workshop for the Media which held at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos on Monday.

Director of Finance and Personnel Management of the board, Isaac Iyalah presenting a paper titled, Overview on NCDMB, its mandate, history, mission and strategic relevance to the development of the nation’s oil and gas industry also stated that $200 million Fund which is managed by the Bank of Industry is to boost local content in the oil and gas industry.

Iyalah also added that through the local content policy managed by the board there has been an upsurge in indigenous participation in the oil and gas leading to Nigerian firms now owning 34% of Marine Vessels in the industry.

Speaking also on the vision and mission of NCDMB, Iyala said, “The Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board, was established by the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (NOGICD) of 2010. The vision of which was to act as catalyst for the industrialization of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry and its linkage Sectors”

He spoke further that “The mission was to promote the development and utilization of the in-country capacities for the industrialization of Nigeria through the effective implementation of the Nigerian Content Act.”

Key Trust of the NOGICD Act that created NCDMB among others was to integrate oil producing communities into the oil and gas value chain, foster institutional collaboration, maximize participation of Nigerians in the oil and gas activities, Link oil and gas sector to other sectors of the economy, maximize utilization of Nigerian resources and attract investments to the Nigeria Oil and gas sector which include service providers, equipment supplies.

He said part of the functions of NCDMB include to review, access and approve Nigerian Content plans developed by Operators; set guidelines and minimum content levels for project related activities across the oil and gas value chain; engage in targeted capacity building interventions that would deepen indigenous capabilities, human capital development, infrastructure and facilities, manufactured materials and local supplier development; among others.

General Manager, Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF), Obinna Ofili who spoke on the paper titled “Introduction to the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCIF), Providing an Understanding of the Objective of the Fund, the Procedures for Accessing it and Target Businesses, said the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI) Fund is a pool of funds made available by the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to be managed by the Bank of Industry to meet the funding needs of Indigenous manufactures, service providers and other key players in the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry.

He stated that “it is sourced from the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF) created by section 104 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Content Development (NOGICD) Act).”

According to the NOGICD Act companies are mandated to pay 1 per cent of any contract which has been concluded in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

Part of reason for the creation of NCI, he said was to reengineer the operations of the NCDF, increase access to funding and grow indigenous participation in the oil and gas industry; to increase access to NCDF; to provide single digit interest loan and enhance competitiveness of indigenous companiesservicing the oil and gas industry.

Ofili said the fund is accessible to contractors as well as community contractors of any of the oil producing communities.

He also explained available types of funding under the NCI Fund which include Manufacturing loan; Asset Acquisition, Contract Finance, Community contract finance scheme and Loan-Re-financing, adding that $10 million remains the maximum amount accessible by an applicant under the manufacturing and Asset acquisition loans. He stated that while Contract Finance loan is $5million and Community contract finance scheme N20million, Loan Re-financing is $2million.

Ofili stated that no applications for two different loans can running simultaneously.

While stating that the tenure for all the available loans under the NCI Fund is 5 years maximum, he added that the Fund attracts 8% interest with exception of the community contract finance scheme which attracts 5%.

Other papers that featured at the workshop include Strategies and Techniques for Effective Media Coverage of the Energy Sector in Nigeria: The NCFI Dimension which was delivered by Visiting Member of the Editorial Board of Businessday and Adjunct Faculty School of Media & Communications, Pan Atlantic University, Chido Nwakanma.

Current Trends & New Themes in Energy and Business Reporting was delivered by Austin Nweze of School of Media and Communication, Pan Atlantic University.