Although extant regulations mandate the retention of 40 per cent local content in oil and gas projects in Nigeria, NCDMB’s Executive Secretary, Simbi Wabote, who spoke at the ongoing Nigeria Oil and Gas conference in Abuja, asserted that there has been a running battle with some International Oil Companies (IOCs) that preferred exporting jobs. He added that about $100 million had been recovered from firms found evading statutory dues accruable to the board. Wabote said: “We have been in a constant battle with some of the IOCs, which believe that the only place to carry out their jobs must be China and not Nigeria. What will you benefit if you take the job to China.”In 2010, the Federal Government established the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, with the NCDMB as the implementing body. Limited, Victor Bandele, said his company has in the last few years invested $10 billion in Nigeria, stressing that there was need to take the Nigerian content to the rest of Africa through intra-African trade.

Source: The Guardian July 06, 2021 04:30 UTC