The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbeon Monday applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for announcing three Presidential Executive Orders directed at incentivizing the Nigerian oil and gas industry, encouraging new investments in the sector, reducing contracting costsand timelines, and promoting cost efficiency in local content requirements.
The Executive Ordersare the Oil and Gas Companies (Tax Incentives, Exemption, Remission, ETC) Order 2024;Presidential Directive on Local Content Compliance Requirements, 2024 (EO 41); and Presidential Directive on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Costs and Timelines, 2024 (EO 42).
Speaking at the Nigerian Content Tower in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, the Executive Secretary stated that the policy directives had reinforced the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act and codified the Service Level Agreements (SLA), which the NCDMBfirst introduced in May 2017 to fast-track approvals for the Nigeria LNG LimitedTrain 7 project, before expanding it to the entire industry after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and five international oil-producing companiesin September 2023.
Engr. Ogbe clarified that the Presidential Executive Orders did not whittle down the powers of the NCDMB or abrogate the schedule of the NOGICD Act. Instead, according to him, the Executive Order 41 mandates the Board to ensure the patronage of local companies with domiciled proven capacities and capabilities to achieve cost competitiveness and project delivery within schedule.
He equally pointed out thatExecutive Order 42 reemphasized NCDMB’s obligation to fast-track approval processes as required by the SLA and section 23 of the NOGICD Act, which mandates the Board to review projects’ documentation within 10 days and advise the concerned operating company.
He assured that the Board would comply with the terms of the Presidential Executive Orders, insisting that the Board had always been pragmatic with its implementation of the NOGICD Act and mindful of the cost competitiveness of projects and schedules.
He maintained thatthe objectives of the Executive Orders and the SLAswere directed to shorten the oil industry’s contracting cycle to six months or less,engender speedy development of newprojects, contribute to increased oil production, and improvethe national economy, expressing delight that President Tinubu had put his stamp of authority on the noble objectives of the SLAs.
He commended Mr. President for acknowledging the giant strides recorded in Nigerian Content development, particularly the impressive capacities built by local oil and gas service companies in key areas of the industry and the substantial benefits that had accrued to the Nigerian economy and her citizens through local content implementation.
The NCDMB boss assured that the agency would continue to serve as a business enabler and maintain the recognition conferred by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), which awarded the Board the most efficient agency amongst all Federal Government’s MDAs in 2022 and the PLATINUM rating by the Bureau for Public Service Reforms in recognition of the self-imposed reforms of Board’s processes.