NCDMB holds virtual oil and gas opportunity fair

Chinazor Megbolu

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has said that the 2021 edition of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) will be held virtually on May 25 and 26, 2021.

The Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Wabote during a press briefing in Lagos, noted the Board decided on the virtual option in compliance with the Federal Government’s guidelines on curtailing the Covid-19 pandemic.

He also pointed out that the conference offers opportunity for participants to join from anywhere in the world without incurring logistics costs, thereby recording increased participation.

Wabote posited that the core objective of organising NOGOF is to showcase the opportunities that are likely to emerge from the short to medium term plans and activities of operators and project promoters operating in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors of the Nigerian oil and gas sector.

“We must as NCDMB continue to give hope to Nigerians and the industry and show them that even when you have a pandemic like this, there are still opportunities for people to look forward to and invest,” Wabote said.

He further explained that the showcase of upcoming projects by operating companies gives Nigerian service companies opportunity to build relevant capacities that might be required to execute the projects in-country, thereby creating employment opportunities and retaining spend in-country.

“Hosting NOGOF is line with the key thrusts of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act 2010 (“NOGICD Act”) which charged the NCDMB to build and support the development of local capacities and capabilities in the oil and gas industry, to foster institutional collaboration, maximising participation of Nigerians in oil and gas activities, linking oil and gas sector to other sectors of the economy, maximising utilisation of Nigerian resources, among others,” he said.

Wabote also averred that the 2021 edition of the bi-annual fair would be the third in the series with the theme as; “Leveraging Opportunities & Synergies for Post Pandemic Recovery of The Nigerian Oil & Gas Industry”.

He added that the theme acknowledges the industry wide disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic as well as encourages constructive discussions on recovery and the way forward, especially within the context of energy transition.

He said the fair would feature technical and opportunity sessions from various stakeholders, virtual networking opportunities, an award ceremony in recognition of distinguished industry players and a virtual exhibition opportunity for registered organisations to present their activities and products to delegates.

Wabote further said that some of the projects unveiled in the previous editions were already underway like the Nigeria LNG Train 7, saying that some others delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, would soon start to be executed.

“When we executed Train 1-6, there were minimal Nigerian participation. But today the Nigerian Content and out-country scope is split 50/50.

“Most of the cryogenic areas would be done outside the country because we do not have capacities in those areas. But 50 per cent of the whole project activities would be done through Nigerian business and must be in-country.

“That is the value that would be retained in the Nigerian economy. We would achieve more in the upstream sector of the project because we have developed capacities in that area,” he said.

Wabote stressed that the pandemic forced countries to depend on their local productions to survive, adding that local capacities developed in the oil and gas industry proved capable of sustaining crude oil productions.

“NCDMB insisted that they must build platform in-country. They thanked us later for that decision because their platform was completed even during the pandemic and deployed to work. If the project were being executed overseas, it would have been suspended during the period,” Wabote said.