By Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Peter Uzoho in Lagos
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has inaugurated 40 companies as part of the second batch of its Project 100 Supplier Development Programme.
Speaking during the event, Executive Secretary of the organisation, Mr. Simbi Wabote, listed the benefits that would accrue to the new Project 100 companies to include bespoke development plans to improve critical business capabilities and access to market opportunities with oil and gas operators on industry projects.
He also identified access to critical industry and operational insights, information and data as well as participation in local oil and gas opportunity fairs and strategic events including advocacy for policy recommendations that would unlock some of the challenges identified by the beneficiaries.
Other opportunities, he said, include technical and business performance improvement capacity programmes and collaboration with critical industry stakeholders for participation in relevant global oil and gas events.
Added to those ones, he said, are R&D collaboration, opportunity to benefit from the $50 million Nigerian Content R&D Fund and opportunity to access the $350 milliob NCI Fund, particularly the $30 million working capital product, for qualified organisations.
The board started Project 100 in January 2019, with 60 companies with the goal of nurturing 100 wholly owned oil and gas service providers, in a competitive and sustainable way through targeted interventions, into larger scale players that create high impact.
Wabote, while inaugurating the new batch of companies in a virtual event, stated that the successful implementation of the project would increase contributions of the oil and gas sector to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), create job opportunities and access to market, increase industrialisation opportunities and increase retention of industry spend.
He confirmed that the 40 new beneficiaries were selected from the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Joint Qualification System (NOGICJQS) , the industry database of competencies which has 4,340 active service companies, adding that 609 applications were received, out of which 40 companies got selected.
The NCDMB chief executive gave a scorecard of the implementation of Project 100 so far, reporting that the first 60 beneficiaries have benefitted from key interventions, one of which is the successful inclusion of 46 beneficiaries in the supplier data base of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG).
The companies, he noted, also benefitted from development and implementation of development plans to improve their critical business capabilities and attended several access to market workshop sessions with major oil and gas operators.
They also benefitted from sponsorship to oil and gas conferences in Nigeria and overseas, in addition to trainings on Subsea Systems and FPSO, Project Production Management and business mentorship, he stated.
The General Manager, Research, Statistics and Development, NCDMB, Mr. Abdulmalik Halilu, in his comments, stressed that the new 40 beneficiaries were selected through a transparent process run in two phases.
He said the firms are wholly owned by Nigerians without international affiliations except for technical partnerships.
The primary service areas of the beneficiaries, he added, are fabrication and construction, well and drilling services, installation, hookup and commissioning, marine operations and logistics services and materials and procurement.
Other areas of their operation are inspection, testing and certification, feed, detailed engineering and other engineering services, health, safety and environment as well as surveying and positioning services.
Chairman of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Mr. Nik Odinuwe commended the NCDMB for sustaining the Project 100, describing it as noble initiative that can accelerate local content aspirations of government and other stakeholders.
He appealed to the board and other stakeholders to challenge, engage and expose the selected companies with real growth opportunities to ensure the success of the initiative and requested the board to collaborate closely with PETAN in the implementation of Project 100.
The PETAN chair regretted that only a few members of the association made the list of 40 companies and charged other member companies to follow the conditions listed by the board to qualify for similar vendor development programmes.
