By John Ikani
No fewer than 35 Indigenous oil and gas companies on Wednesday in Port Harcourt attended an interactive session with a delegation from the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC), which was in Nigeria on a three-day working visit to seek collaboration and investments in their petroleum sector.
The event, which was facilitated by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), afforded the companies, which are beneficiaries of the Board’s Project 100 initiative, the opportunity to obtain first-hand information on the current state of Uganda’s oil and gas industry, where production operations are scheduled to begin in 2025.
In a welcome address, the General Manager, Planning, Research and Statistics (PRS), Mr. Silas Ajimijaiye, expressed appreciation for the zeal exhibited by the companies for the meeting, which he said was part of what the Board does to create access to market.
Recalling the beginnings of the initiative in January 2019, he noted that “Project 100 was just an idea; today, it has a life of its own,” and that some of the beneficiary indigenous firms “are already making forays into other countries within Africa and beyond.”
According to him, NCDMB, in conjunction with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, had set out to create “fully indigenous oil and gas companies, and nurture them to the next level, to enhance their capacities, support them financially through the NCI [Nigerian Content Intervention] Fund, and help find opportunities in the industry in collaboration with our stakeholders – NNPC [Nigerian National Petroleum Company] Limited and subsidiaries….”
He said policy workshops had to be organised by the Board “to diagnose the challenges of the target beneficiaries and consolidate policy recommendations for consideration.” In addition to these, tax awareness workshops, trainings on how to ping for projects, and on research and development, have been carried out.
Also, as part of strategy to create access to markets, Project 100 companies have been encouraged to participate in international and local summits, where they would be able to meet key players in the industry and business people.
In her own response, a member of the Ugandan delegation, Mrs. Jessica Kyeyune, National Content Specialist at UNOC told the participants at the event that they greatly appreciated the reception accorded them and the opportunity to interact with the indigenous oil and gas companies in Nigeria.
She described the petroleum industry in her country as very young and desirous to learn from Nigeria, which she observed has had decades of experience.
In regard to opportunities for investment in their country’s oil and gas industry, Jessica pointed out that “All core and specialist services” are open to prospective investors.
Earlier in a presentation on Project 100, Mr. Jonathan Amarachi Njoku, Senior Supervisor, Planning, Research and Statistics, gave exhaustive background information on the initiative. Among other things, he dwelt on Project 100 Implementation Pillars and targeted interventions.
He highlighted components of what is known as Supplier Capacity Development Programme (SCDP), notably, Access to Market, Capacity Building, Policy Intervention, Access to Finance, and Research and Development. These constitute non-financial interventions in the Board’s scheme for bolstering the growth and competitiveness of the beneficiary companies.
On access to market, he indicated the ever-emerging opportunities evidenced by the planned visit of officials from the oil and gas industry of Mozambique, on the heels of that by UNOC. Those from Mozambique are also visiting Nigeria as guests of NCDMB. It would be another round of interactions and engagements with Nigerian indigenous oil and gas firms.
To date, 60 selected Project 100 companies provide services in 12 segments of the oil and gas industry.
An outstanding beneficiary of the initiative, Mr. Jacob O. Idungafa, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Fairtex Integrated Services Limited, commended NCDMB for Project 100 and explained how the Board’s doggedness in implementation had enabled him and others to achieve remarkable success. His company played host to the NCDMB team and other Project 100 firms.
The UNOC delegation included Catherine BehanganaTumusima, Chief Human Resources Officer, Edith Tusubira, Human Resources Business, and Ochaki Brian Kabalega, National Content Officer.
On the NCDMB team were Mr. Silas Ajimijaiye, General Manager, PRS, Mrs. Tassala Tersugh, General Manager, Midstream, Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate, Mrs. Alexis Emelle, Manager, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr. Jonathan Amarachi Njoku, Senior Supervisor, PRS, Mr. Mohammed Ahmed, Manager, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr. Kayode Arikewuyo, PRS, Mr. Usman Garba, Senior Supervisor, HSSE.
