By Ndubuisi Micheal Obineme
The maiden edition of the Nigerian Oil & Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) was held in 2017 in Akwa Ibom State. Hence, this is the first time that NOGOF will take place in Yenegoa, Bayelsa State.
The second edition of Nigeria Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair, NOGOF, with the theme “Maximising Investments in the Nigerian Oil and Gas for the Benefit of the Nigerian People,” was held at the new Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) new headquarters at Oxbow Lake, Yenegoa, Bayelsa, Nigeria, in 2019.
NOGOF 2019 was proudly hosted by The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, and organized by Jake Riley Ltd. The 2 days conference started with a welcome barbecue, 13 opportunity presentations, 7 insightful panel sessions, 98 exhibiting companies, and awards ceremony to celebrate companies with the most impactful local content.
Nigeria Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair, NOGOF, offers a wide range of opportunities for indigenous companies operating in the Nigerian oil and gas sector. The Fair brings together major players across the Upstream, Midstream and Downstream sectors of the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry including Government Agencies, Industry regulators and the National Assembly to showcase Opportunities in the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry and present available in-country capacity.
NOGOF Success Stories:
NOGOF also provides a platform for operators to share with service providers the opportunities coming up in Nigeria in the next one to five years. It is really an important event for investors and industry stakeholders to explore the project opportunities in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. And, the Nigerian Federal Government has created an enabling environment for doing business more efficiently in Nigeria.
Speaking about the event, Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Wabote said: “At the maiden edition of the Nigerian Oil & Gas Opportunity Fair in 2017, I outlined some activities that the board intends to undertake. These activities include; Enhance the Reduction in the Oil & Gas Contracting Circle Time, Streamlining Out TouchPoint in the Tendering Process, Produce a Compendium of Nigerian Content Opportunities, Initiate Funding Strategies for Businesses, Drive Policies for the Development of Modular Refineries, Industry and Regulator Collaboration, Identification of High Impact Opportunities, Reducing the contracting circle time in the oil & gas industry.”
In his words, “NCDMB has signed a service agreement with NLNG, OPTS, and IPPG. Some of the agreement includes; Nigerian Content Plan. The board has also restructured its internal process so that our touchpoints are completed within 100 days instead of 3 years.
“We also have in place the 15-day rule within which if you don’t get any response in regards to your request, you should consider it as approval granted.”
Initiation of Funding Strategy For businesses: NCDMB launched the $200 million dollars Nigerian Content Intervention Fund. The fund is managed by the Bank of Industry (BOI). It has a single opening unit of up to $10 million dollars and it has a duration of up to five years with a single-digit interest rate of 8 percent.
Wabote said: “Other funding mechanisms are also in place in-line with our investment policy which has been approved. The governing council of NCDMB has been tremendous in terms of their support to the board.
“I am pleased to inform you that we have been able to achieve most of the activities that we promised during NOGOF 2017.”
Produce a Compendium of Nigerian Content Opportunities:
At NOGOF 2019, NCDMB unveiled the Compendium of Nigerian Content Opportunities. The Compendium contains all the project opportunities as well as local content specific opportunities that will enable industry stakeholders and investors to see the opportunities available within the next five years in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
The Compendium also contains over 80 listed projects and opportunities. The estimated value of all the projects and opportunities highlighted in it is over $100 million dollars. The compendium provides a collection of industry opportunities that will guide the Nigerian oil & gas entrepreneurs to pursue specific opportunities in the industry based on their capacity which will also help them measure the level of achievements attained on the listed opportunities from time to time.
According to NCDMB, the compendium will be updated every two years to enable stakeholders in the industry to be aware of what is coming their way because a lack of information has been one of the major challenges of local businesses.
The Chairman, NOGOF 2019 Planning Committee, Akintunde Adelana along with the Event Organiser, Mrs. Funmi Ogbue, MD/Principal Consultant, Jake Riley Ltd said that the compendium is NCDMB’s pioneer attempt at creating a database of opportunities covering the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors of the Nigerian Oil and gas industry.
“The aim is to help local, indigenous and potential investors to prepare and improve their capacities and capabilities to participate in available and upcoming projects.
“In conclusion, there are multiple opportunities in the oil & gas industry. International Energy Agency (IEA) submits that the global oil demand will continue to increase.
“According to IEA, there is robust growth in global oil demand driven by petrochemicals. This shows that the world is shifting its use of oil as a commodity into better use as a resource.
“EIA also highlighted that Africa gas production will rise within the next two decades and Nigeria playing a leading role.
“For the purpose of this event, I will like to further state that opportunities in this context aren’t all about getting handouts, it isn’t an entitlement, doesn’t support laziness, and it isn’t a quick foot.
“All the data from IEA will come to nothing if actions aren’t taken to realize these opportunities. For opportunities to be utilized, it requires patience, taking a risk, hard work, focus on long-term, and it has to be solution-oriented.
“If necessity is the mother of invention, utilizing an opportunity is the father of all sources.
“Lastly, I would like to use this opportunity to commit on what will be done between now and the next NOGOF events these include; completion and commission of the 17 storey building of NCDMB plus a newly revised Compendium, and further drive policies on Modular Refineries and support Local Manufacturing of LPG Gas Cylinder in-country,” he concluded.
NOGOF is conceived as a platform for showcasing opportunities across the value chain of the Nigerian oil & gas industry-specific to the industry stakeholders and investors.