Yemisi Izuora
As part of the strategies to increase Nigeria’s crude oil production and enhance revenue accruing to the national treasury, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has advocated for a week in each year to be dedicated to signing final investment decisions (FIDs) on new oil and gas projects.
The Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe made the proposal on Tuesday in his presentation at the 2024 African Energy Week (AEW), holding at Cape Town, South Africa.
A final investment decision is the final point in an energy project, in which the company or partners owning and operating a project give the final approval for the development, releasing the funding for the commencement.
Ogbe stated that the FID Week, if adopted, could be incorporated into the existing annual international oil and gas conferences and would feature international and indigenous operating companies.
He posited that dedicating a week every year for FID signing could compel companies and relevant regulators to fast-track their processes to meet the deadline.
He also indicated that the proposal for the annual FID Week has already been broached to Special Adviser on Energy to President, Mrs. Olu Verheijen and the leadership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and international operating companies and was being considered.
Represented at the African Energy Week (AEW) by the Director, Projects Certification and Authorization Division (PCAD) Engr. Abayomi Bamidele, the NCDMB boss said the proposal for an annual FID Week was geared to address the insufficient FIDs signed by the operating companies and the limited number of new projects being developed in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. These worrisome developments contributed to Nigeria’s dwindling crude oil production and the negative impact on revenue, he said.
He suggested that the Nigerian oil and gas industry needed to have at least one or two final investment decisions on major projects to be signed every year, to catalyze activity in the local service sector and the national economy and ultimately increase crude oil and gas production and revenue for the country.
He made reference to the three Presidential Directives (PDs) rolled out by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in March 2024, for the oil and gas industry, stating that NCDMB had complied fully with the directives as it relates to fast-tracking the contracting cycle and eliminating middlemen with no demonstrable capacity from participating in the oil and gas value chain.
The PDs included Presidential Directive on Local Content Compliance, Presidential Directive on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Cost and Timelines and Presidential Directive on Oil and Gas Companies (Tax Incentives, Exemption, Remission, etc)
Ogbe announced that NCDMB had applied the Presidential Directives in approving five oil and gas projects which are currently in the funnel. He hinted that the expected production values of those projects are 1 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day and 350,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Commenting on strategies that would ensure sustainable local content development in African nations, the Executive Secretary stated that local content has to be promoted as a national agenda and supported by all institutions, businesses, decision makers, investors and citizens.
Some other personnel of the NCDMB made presentations at the 2024 edition of the African Energy Week (AEW) on core operations and initiatives of the agency. The officials included Director of Finance and Personnel Management, Mr. Ifeanyi Ukoha, the Manager, Institutional Strengthening, Engr. Obongo Dokubo and the Supervisor Upstream, Engr. Bashir Ahmed.