“Last year at PNC, I spoke about the role NCDMB has played as a proactive business enabling regulator with collaboration on the phenomenally successful 5,000 barrels per day Waltersmith modular refinery in Ibigwe which commenced operations in November 2020.
“Today, as I projected last year, the refinery has delivered its first dividend payment to NCDMB, paid off a significant portion of its project financing and commenced an expansion phase designed to double refinery’s capacity to 10,000 barrels per day in the next eighteen months.
“NCDMB’s commercial ventures partnership programme continues to stimulate investment and promote in-country capacity. It is clear the Government’s effort in deepening local content in the Nigerian oil and gas industry is paying dividends and it is imperative that this effort is sustained with greater focus placed on bridging inherent capacity gaps; addressing infrastructural inadequacy and capital deficiency plaguing the industry at the moment in order to optimally derive the full benefits of the local content policy”, Isa said.
He further stated: “While we proudly recognize the major role that local content implementation has played in advancing our oil and gas sector, we must also be mindful of ensuring that our local content policies are constantly evaluated to ensure that they are continually fit-for-purpose and not counter-productive to our long-term industry growth and cost targets. Our industry continues to face growing pressures to remain profitable and cost-efficient as it faces competition from other investment destinations.”
Isa noted that the PNC has always provided a viable platform for demonstrating the successes recorded in deepening Nigerian Content and fostering industry-wide collaboration in delivering the key tenets of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (NOGICD Act).