The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has reassured stakeholders of the industry that oil and gas service companies that have established capacities in the country will continue to enjoy patronage through the award of contracts from operating companies in the industry.

The Executive Secretary NCDMB, Felix Omatsola Ogbe made this commitment on Friday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State when he led officials of the Board and Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) to visit companies that deliver pipe coating and related services.

The team visited Brightwaters Energy Limited, formerly known as Willbros Nigeria Ltd,Solewant Nigeria Limited and Pipe Coaters Nigeria, managed by Tenaris Nigeria Ltd.

The Executive Secretary said the visits were to assess the companies’ facilities and determine how the Board can galvanise the industry to patronise them. He underscored the importance of getting first-hand informationon in-country capabilities before making key decisions on oil and gas projects. Heinsisted that operating companies must support and patronise local oil and gas service companies in compliance with the provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.

Mr Ogbe emphasised that activities in the Nigerian oil and gas industry must be used to create employment opportunities for the nation’s teeming youths and help to resuscitate the economy, in line with the aspirations of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu.

The Chief Executive Officer of Brightwaters Energy Limited, Scott Gregory thanked the Executive Secretary for leading the visit while highlighting that Brightwaters, formerly Willbros carried out Nigeria’s first pipe coating in 1962.

He recalled that the facility had 3,000 employees some years back, executing various spheres of oil and gas projects. He conveyed the management’s aspiration to return the firm to thosehigh-performance levels and sought the Board’s support to win oil and gas projects that would resuscitate the sprawling facility. “We feel that we can be a positive contributor to Nigeria through the capacities that we have. We want to bring real, true value to the table,” he added. He admitted that the coating facility had suffered downtime, but assured that the plant would be up and running within 60 days of the award of a new contract.

The Chairman of Tenaris Nigeria, Ernest Nwapa welcomed the NCDMB’s team to PCNL’s facilities. He commended the effortsmade by the agency to pushlocal content in the industry, attributing it to the good culture that had been established at the Board over the years.

Nwapa, who was the pioneer Executive Secretary of NCDMBexpressed delight that some of the oil and gas projects that had been pending for nearlyten years were now being developed and expressed hope that existing local capacities would be maximized in the execution of those projects.

The team was taken around the company’s facilities and shown the various equipment of PCNL in readiness for the award of new contracts. Nwapa pledged the commitment of thecompany to meet the expectations of clients as well as allow them to participate in the supervision of the work in their factory.

The PCNL facility covers an area of 160,000 m2 in the Onne Free Trade Zone. The company offers Anticorrosion, CWC, Thermal Insulation, Internal and Bends Coating plants as well as Double Jointing and Anode Installation Facilities.

At Solewant Group, an EPCI and Pipe Coating Company, the NCDMB delegation was shown round the company’s facilities as well as the new investments, such as the 5mega watts generators,procured to guarantee power supply to the facility.

Accompanying Mr Ogbe on the facility visits werethe Director Projects Certification and Authorization Division (PCAD), Abayomi Bamidele, General Manager PCAD, Maurice Iwhiwhu, Special Technical Assistant (STA) to the Executive Secretary, Mofe Megbele, Deputy Manager, Corporate Communications, Obinna Ezeobi, and other staff members of the Board.

The SPDC team was led by the General Manager, Nigerian Content Development, Mr Lanre Olawuyi.