TheCable

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) says it has committed $332million to attract projects valued at $3.7 billion under its commercial ventures partnership program.

Simbi Wabote, executive secretary of the NCDMB, was speaking on Tuesday at the 2021 edition of the Nigerian Oil & Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF).

He said funding is critical to realising oil and gas opportunities, adding that the board has made considerable changes in order to make its intervention funds more accessible.

“We have widened options for accessing our intervention funds by increasing the size of our intervention funds from $200million to $350million, increasing the number of products from 5 to 7, and also increasing the number of managing banks from 1 to 2,” he said.

“We have committed a total of $332million to attract project developments valued at $3.7billion under our commercial ventures partnership program.”

He also said the $50million Nigerian Content Research and Development Fund (NCR&DF) has been approved by the NCDMB governing council to drive basic research, commercialisation of research breakthroughs, establishment of centers of excellence, and to sponsor university endowments.

According to Wabote, President Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration of 2021- 2030 as the decade of gas would provide opportunities for monetisation of the country’s gas reserves.

He noted that the impending passage of the petroleum industry bill (PIB), the amendment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, and the ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) would create favourable openings for discerning investors.

The NCDMB boss further listed projects that the board pledged to deliver by the next NOGOF event in 2022.

“We shall complete and commission composite LPG cylinder manufacturing plants with a combined capacity of 1.2 million cylinders per annum. We shall commission three other projects dedicated to gas processing, LPG bottling, and production of base oil,” Wabote said.

“We shall also commission and commence operations from our industrial parks at Odukpani and Emeyal-1.

“We shall commercialise at least one R&D project and close skills gaps in under-water welding and any other core skill required in the industry.”