NCDMB To Establish Oil And Gas Parks In A’Ibom, Three Others

BAYELSA

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has commenced work on four new oil and gas parks in the Niger Delta region in addition to the two already being developed.

The Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, EngrSimbi Kesiye Wabote, announced this recently at the Nigerian Content Sensitization Programme for Law Enforcement Agencies, organised by the board in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

The four new oil and gas parks are located at ONNA in Akwa Ibom State, at Oguta in Imo State, atIlaje in Ondo State and in Delta State.

According to Wabote, work was progressing in different stages at the identified locations. 

He stated that the completed oil and gas parks would be managed by professional facility managers to ensure their sustainability.

Wabote commended oil and gas companies, notably Exxon Mobil Nigeria, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC),for making significant investment in support of the ongoing development of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme (NOGaPS),.

According to him, Shell funded the provision of power and utility cables deployed at the oil and gas park located at Emeyal-1, Bayelsa State, while Exxon Mobil provided the electrical infrastructure for the park at Odukpani in Cross River State. 

Also, NAOC had earlier partnered with the NCDMB to develop the 10-megawatts gas power plant that would supply electricity to the Bayelsa park when completed, in addition to providing uninterrupted electricity currently to the Nigerian Content Tower and some strategic infrastructure owned by the Bayelsa State Government.

Wabote stated that the NCDMB had signed an agreement with the Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria (GACN) to establish a gas-fired power plant at the Odukpani Park to provide the park with constant electricity. 

He assured that the power facility will be ready before the end of 2022, about the same time the Emeyal-1 and Odukpani parks would be completed, ahead of commencing operations in early 2023. 

Wabote announced that the NCDMB had started inviting interested manufacturing companies and other firms to apply for spaces in the parks. 

The parks would have dedicated power supply and shared services and were conceived to domicile equipment components manufacturing in-country, to meet the needs of the oil and gas industry and sectoral linkages as well as create jobs for the nation’s teeming youths.

Wabote also disclosed that the NCDMB was partnering with the Nigeria LNG Limited to develop the Brass Island Shipyard as a Capacity Development Initiative. 

He hinted that the feasibility study, geotechnical survey and site selection study had all been completed. 

Wabote added that, in addition, the land valuation and perimeter survey had also been completed and the plan is to construct the shipyard in two phases.

He explained that the workshopwas aimed atstrengthening the existing collaboration with various law enforcement organizations and sister agencies and leverage their expertise and partnership to accelerate Nigerian content compliance in the oil and gas industry.

“When you are speaking the same language with Customs, they will guard against the importation of goods that can be produced in-country while immigration will help in terms of expatriate quota management,” Wabote said.

The workshop featured several presentations and panel discussions from representatives of the invited agencies and legal luminaries who proposed various strategies for improving enforcement and compliance with the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.