Press Releases / By ncdmb
… $5bn Train 7 to create 50,000 jobs
The Nigerian
Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Nigeria Liquified
Natural Gas Limited will set up a tactical team comprising nominees from both
organizations to drive closer collaboration on projects, ensure compliance with
Nigerian Content obligations and promote other strategic alliances for the good
of the nation’s economy.
This
decision was reached on Wednesday when the Managing Director of Nigeria LNG
Ltd, Dr. Philip Mshelbila led his management team to pay a courtesy visit to
the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote at the Nigerian
Content Tower, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The Managing
Director explained that the visit was conceived to introduce the company’s new
management team to the NCDMB. He stated that “NLNG and NCDMB have a special
partnership that is beyond operator and regulator relationship. We started this
relationship when we signed a Service Level Agreement (SLA) a few years ago and
it put in place standards by which we would work together and ensure compliance
and guard against surprises.”
He said the
current plan is to take the relationship further and beyond complying with the
provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD)
Act. He said the reason is because “NLNG has a vision not just to be a globally
competitive NLNG business, but to help build a better Nigeria. To do that we
have to work closely with the NCDMB and raise our partnership to a new level,
and that includes human development, research, and other areas.”
Speaking on
the ongoing Train 7 LNG project, Mshelbila recalled how NCDMB supported the
Nigeria LNG in various ways to enable the takeoff of the project. He said: “the
Final Investment Decision (FID) was taken successfully with the help of NCDMB
and the project is now under construction, making good and safe progress. We
are looking at potentially 5000 to 10,000 persons being employed on different
phases of the project. We already have thousands working on the ground. It is
employing various contractors across different areas. This is a true example of
how local content should be.”
The
Executive Secretary in his remarks commended Nigeria LNG for its impressive
compliance with the provisions of the Nigerian Content Act, adding that the
Board has continually fulfilled its obligations on the Service Level Agreement.
He expressed delight with the progress being made with the execution of the LNG
Train 7 project, noting that it had reached about 30 percent completion.
He also
stated that the worth of the Train 7 project is about $5bn, which represents
huge foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Nigerian economy. Other economic
benefits include the creation of 10,000 direct jobs and about 40,000 indirect
employment opportunities. He added: “There are also upstream projects that are
currently being approved that will supply gas to Train 7. Those upstream
projects will lead to additional $6m foreign direct investment into the country.
This will create employment opportunities, touch the lives of families, raise
the profile of the country as a major LNG producer and increase our domestic
LPG (cooking gas) production. Train 7 is already providing a lot of jobs for
Nigerian contractors, fabricators, logistics companies and more. The benefits
are enormous.”
He assured
that the Board will continue to collaborate closely with the Nigeria LNG,
especially to ensure deeper LPG (cooking gas) penetration into the Nigerian
market, hinting that NCDMB had partnered with several investors towards
improving the accessibility of LPG.
Wabote also encouraged Nigeria LNG to consider further investments, highlighting that Qatar already has 14 LNG trains. He said Nigeria needed to grow its LNG capacities, especially with the world’s clamour for energy transition and Federal Government’s declaration that gas is Nigeria’s transition fuel.