NCDMB: We’ve reduced oil and gas contract cycle to six months

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) says the oil industry contracting cycle has been reduced to six months due to President Bola Tinubu’s directives on local content operations.

Felix Omatsola Ogbe, executive secretary of NCDMB, spoke during a breakfast meeting with some media executives in Lagos on October 7.

On March 9, Tinubu directed a reduction of the oil and gas contract timeline from three years to six months.

Ogbe said the NCDMB had complied fully with the presidential directive on local content compliance requirements, 2024, executive order (EO 41), which sought to ensure that only local service companies that have domiciled proven capacities and capabilities can participate in oil and gas tenders.

Also, he said the directive has eliminated middlemen from the oil and gas industry value chain.

“We’ve eliminated middlemen from the oil and gas industry value chain and contributed to shortening the oil industry contracting cycle to six months, courtesy of the three Presidential Directives on Local Content operations issued by President Bola Tinubu in March 2024,” he said.

Ogbe said NCDMB has reduced its touch points and fast-tracked projects’ approval processes, in compliance with the presidential directive on the reduction of petroleum sector contracting costs and timelines, 2024 (EO 42).

Furthermore, the executive secretary said efforts were being made to bring international oil companies (IOCs) back to Nigeria to continue their operations.

“For the companies who have left the shore of Nigeria, we should be able to bring them back to continue doing operations and respect Nigeria’s content as per the president’s directive,” Ogbe said.

He said it is challenging to persuade companies planning to leave or those that have already left the shores of the country to return and invest in Nigeria.

Ogbe further said the NCDMB board intends to ensure that construction activities in the oil and gas industry were within six months as directed by the presidential directive.

“At the same time, again, we’re going to go into dealing with the communities, trying to grow capacity with the community contractors so that the impact of the community on oil and gas operations is minimised to the barest minimum as soon as possible,” he said.

The executive secretary said in the last 10 months, the board completed some of its pending projects while developing new policies in response to the emerging developments.