Tag: NCDMB

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has pledged support for MT Valves West Africa’s plan to establish a 15,000-ton-per-year industrial valve manufacturing facility at the Lekki Free Zone, Lagos.

During a recent facility tour, a delegation from NCDMB—led by Special Technical Assistant to the Executive Secretary, Engr. Harmony Kunu, alongside Obinna Ezeobi (Manager, Media and Publicity) and Chika Enwerem (Manager, Commercial Ventures)—assessed the company’s readiness and investment strategy.

MT Valves West Africa, a subsidiary of the globally established MT Group, currently produces 60,000 tons of valves annually from its Abu Dhabi facility and operates an advanced R&D and manufacturing hub at its global headquarters in Shanghai, China. The West Africa arm is already a certified vendor to Shell Nigeria, despite its relatively recent entry into the Nigerian market.

Its Managing Director, Thomas Zhang and Sales Director Elliot Aigbokhade briefed the NCDMB team on the company’s commitment to local content development and adherence to the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act. They outlined plans for an advanced workshop in Lekki to support local value addition, capacity building, and a resilient supply chain.

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According to company officials, the facility—intended to replicate the scale and standards of its Abu Dhabi operation—aims to close a critical industry gap, as there is currently no local industrial valve manufacturing in Nigeria. The plant’s strategic vision includes phased growth, sourcing raw materials locally, training Nigerians at home and abroad, and engaging indigenous partners.

The facility will also provide maintenance, repair, assembly, and full-scale manufacturing services. Some equipment has already been installed, while other critical components are en route to Nigeria. MT Valves has requested regulatory support from NCDMB and facilitation of industry connections to enhance project visibility and patronage.

In response, NCDMB reaffirmed its commitment to supporting credible investments that align with the NOGICD Act, emphasizing job creation, local capacity development, and economic industrialization—key pillars of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

The Board urged MT Valves to develop a robust investment roadmap, outlining clear milestones, Nigerian content targets, and contributions to the national economy. The company has also been invited to showcase its plans at the upcoming Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF), scheduled for May 20–22.

To further deepen stakeholder engagement, MT Valves extended invitations to officials from NCDMB, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), and Nigeria LNG Limited to tour its Abu Dhabi and Shanghai facilities and gain firsthand insight into its global operations and investment scale

The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, has assured the leadership of Heritage Energy & Oil Services Limited and its joint venture partners of support for their operations on oil mining lease (OML) 30.

He made this promise at NCDMB’s Lagos liaison office. The oil company visited with their Joint Venture (JV) Partners, Shoreline Natural Resources, and NNPC Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL).

Heritage is the operator of OML 30 on behalf of Shoreline/NEPCL JV, and the discussions focused on the short, medium, and long term plans around their asset.

The group thanked NCDMB for supporting their operations and solicited for accelerated approval of documents relevant to their tenders for drilling and other projects. The documents include: Technical Invitations to Tender, Technical and Commercial Evaluation Template, Nigeria Content Compliance Certificates, Letter for approval of Human Capacity Development Trainings and other support to enable the company comply fully with the provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.

The group’s plan is to grow production from the current 45,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) by 2030. This growth projection would require substantial investment, including drilling several new wells, the officials said.

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The officials confirmed that their consortium has kicked off a four-rig campaign to boost production, focusing on underdeveloped fields, gas development, which would support Nigeria’s gas master plan, and exploration. The company officials added that

“We anticipate a significant production increase in oil production over the next five years from these initiatives. It’s not just about increasing output; it’s about local economic development, job creation, and sustainable resource utilization. We are also investing in produced water disposal to enhance operational efficiency and optimize production. Our strategic investment also includes flare gas gathering/gas development and monetization, unlocking a new value stream for the Asset. Additionally, we are revamping and investing in the Trans Forcados Pipeline (“TFP”) to support the expected increased production from OML 30 and other assets that leverage the TFP for crude evacuation.

In his remarks, the Executive Secretary commended Heritage and the entire OML 30 team for the strides they have achieved with their operations. He assured that NCDMB would support their investment plans, which would lead to increased oil and gas production, job creation, and economic enhancement in line with President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda for the country.

The NCDMB helmsman highlighted several initiatives the agency was championing, as well as its partnership with international and indigenous oil producing companies to accelerate oil and gas projects and crude oil production, in line with President’s charge to the oil industry.

Senior officials of the NCDMB team at the meeting included the Director Planning, Research and Statistics, Isaac Yalah, Director Project Certification & Authorisation, Engr. Abayomi Bamidele, General Manager Corporate Communication and Zonal Coordination, Esueme Dan Kikile, and General Manager, Strategy and Transformation Projects, Amanda Yekorogha.

OML 30 lies onshore within the Niger Delta, in one of the most prolific oil and gas provinces in the world. The licence covers 1,097 square kilometres and includes eight producing fields such as Olomoro, Oleh, Uweh, Uzere, Ewvreni, Eremu, Oroni, Kokori and several other partially appraised fields with oil and gas contained in numerous stacked reservoirs.

Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Felix Omatsola Ogbe, has urged oil and gas industry stakeholders in Africa to institute an Africa-wide local content framework that would harmonise policies and foster cross-border partnerships.

He said such a framework would allow African nations to leverage collective strengths for mutual prosperity, while emphasising that “local content is not just a policy – it is a strategy for sustainable economic growth.”

In his words, it is “the foundation of economic transformation and energy security across Africa.”

In a Keynote Address entitled “Unlocking Africa’s Potential through Local Content: Policies, Partnerships, and Progress,” delivered at the eight Nigerian International Energy Summit (NIES 2025), the Executive Secretary said, “The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) presents an opportunity to position local content as a driver of continental industrialization.”

He drew attention to the critical role of policies, partnerships, and progress in unlocking Africa’s vast energy potential, noting that, “Across our continent, we are blessed with abundant natural resources, yet the true measure of wealth lies not in extraction but how we harness, retain, and multiply value within our economies.”

According to him, “Unlocking Africa’s potential through local content requires unwavering commitment to capacity building, policy refinement, and strategic partnerships,” just as the energy transition across the world and the dynamic global market dictate that African nations remain resolute in their efforts to maximise local value addition.

He said: “NCDMB remains committed to working with our African counterparts to share best practices, co-develop industrial hubs, and create synergies that benefit the wider energy landscape.”

Commenting on new investments, the Executive Secretary commended President Bola Tinubu for signing the Executive Orders, which made Nigeria Africa’s top destination for oil and gas sector investments.

He noted that the Executive Order had reduced the contracting cycle for oil and gas projects from 36 months to six months.

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 “This directive sped up project approvals and removed bureaucratic delays. It has also boosted investor confidence and accelerated project execution. Engr Ogbe added that the Executive Orders led to four Final Investment Decisions (FID) within a year.

Throwing light on Nigeria’s experience in local content development, Engr. Ogbe said, “By maximising local participation in the oil and gas value chain, we have created jobs and enhanced economic development,” adding, “We have demonstrated how capacity building, policy refinement, and joint partnerships can create a thriving, self-sustaining oil and gas ecosystem.”

The NCDMB, which he described as “Nigeria’s pre-eminent local content regulator,” has thus far prioritised development of indigenous skills, asset and equipment ownership, and local manufacturing capabilities.

To support the above-mentioned priorities, the Board has in place a number of initiatives, such as the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCIF) to provide affordable financing to support indigenous businesses in acquiring assets, expanding operations, and delivering world-class services. 

The Executive Secretary also highlighted the Board’s Human Capacity Development (HCD) programmes, which continue to train thousands of Nigerians in specialised skills that align with industry needs, and the Project 100 Initiative, which targets capacity development for indigenous service companies some of which have become big-time industry players operating across international boundaries.

The Board, according to Engr. Ogbe, is developing Nigerian oil and gas industrial parks across seven locations in the country to provide infrastructure for the manufacturing of equipment, components, and spare parts to serve local and regional markets.

Major construction work at the sites is expected to be completed at the end of the year, and interested investors in manufacturing are called upon to contact the Board for allocation of plots for development in the parks.

Among policy instruments and other initiatives of the NCDMB highlighted were the Nigerian Content Equipment Certificate (NCEC), which seeks to drive the growth of in-country value addition in the oil and gas industry through ownership of equipment and facilities.

Also, the Marine Vessel Categorisation Implementation Strategy, which has yielded appreciable results with marine vessel ownership by indigenous companies growing from less than eight per cent in 2010 to more than 60 per cent presently.

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has debunked rumours that it spent N9.9 billion on consultancy services, saying its operations are transparent.

NCDMB, in a statement by its Corporate Communications Department, wondered how promoters of the allegation increased the figure from N7.7 billion to N9.9 billion within a week.

The statement, however, clarified that in all its transactions due process was followed and all expenditures were approved with financial and procurement guidelines.

The statement reads: “The NCDMB wishes to alert the public that a sponsored group, CCSGG, masquerading as a coalition of civil society group for good governance are recycling the same bogus and unfounded allegations that were recently published against the operations of our agency.

“While we have dismissed these patently false allegations in a widely circulated press statement on Thursday, February 13, titled: ‘NCDMB Observes the Highest Standards of Accountability, Transparency, and Due Process in its Operations’, the purveyors of this evil campaign have gone ahead to recruit unsuspecting journalists across some national media to continue to peddle their lies.

“For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to restate that: neither the Board nor the Executive Secretary spent the amount stated in the headline of the referenced statement.

“NCDMB organised a strategic workshop with heads of ministries, departments, and agencies of government that pertain to the oil and gas industry to interrogate and find areas of alignment in the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, 2010, in line with our Nigerian content 10-year strategic roadmap’s enabler on stakeholder collaboration and engagement. The workshop is held every two years and involves the leadership and senior management of those critical agencies, with a view to ensuring a harmonious policy and regulatory implementation by all agencies and institutions connected with the NOGICD Act implementation.

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“Due process was followed and that all expenditures in relation to this strategic workshop and other projects of the board were made in accordance with approved financial and procurement guidelines.

“There was no such expenditure of N9.9 billion by the board for consultancy services. It is instructive to note that this figure has moved from N7.7 billion to this new figure within a week by these fake groups masquerading as civil society groups.

“S.B Capital Partners & Advisory Limited, engaged by the Board since 2018, offers credit review services for the NCDMB Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCIF) with Bank of Industry.

“S.B Capital Partners & Advisory Limited credit review is to determine economic viability and bankability of projects submitted to the Board through the Bank of Industry (BoI) on our Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCIF).

“The Board conducts all its operations within the highest levels of transparency, which is why we have for three consecutive years won the award from the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) as the number one agency in transparency and efficiency amongst all federal ministries, departments and agencies.”