NNPC has reiterated its determination to maximize the participation of Nigerians in local projects to raise the bar of Nigerian content policy. Baru gave the assurance at the 11th Oil Industry Achievement award, organised by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) in Lagos. The theme of the paper is: “Local Content Compliance in an Extended Low Price Environment’’.
Baru said that Nigeria needed to take back most fabrication work and other services in the industry from foreign yards. He said that this would increase the contribution of the industry to the nation’s GDP, adding “it is the corporation’s goal to achieve much more’’.
According to him, in our determination to maximize participation of Nigerians in our projects and domicile project activities in the country. We in the NNPC have been implementing the Nigerian Content Policy as enshrined in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act since before the enactment of the act in 2010.
“The development of domestic in-country value addition capacity capable of transforming Nigeria to self-reliant exporter of refined products, energy, power and oil and gas services,’’ he said.
The NNPC boss said that PETAN had been a veritable platform for Nigerian oil and gas entrepreneurs. He said that the platform also encouraged exchange of ideas on the realization of the Nigerian content aspiration and ways of achieving possible improvements. He said that the choice of the topic was very relevant to the nation’s oil and gas industry of today, given that it was largely characterized by high cost of production. He said that it would address high percentage of foreign content to the detriment of local industry, high expatriate quota utilization by international oil companies and ever rising repatriation of profits and incomes.
Baru, therefore, challenged PETAN to strengthen its resolve in vigorously pursuing its mission of promoting the domestication of petroleum technology by striving for fair and extensive patronage into a new phase. He advised that association should consider the current realities of the industry so that its operations would align with efforts by other players to deliver efficient services to stakeholders and deepen in-country value addition.
He reaffirmed NNPC’s commitment to comply with the provisions of the Nigerian Content Act to increase in-country value addition and support all relevant stakeholders in achieving this noble objective. The NNPC boss implored the operators to join NNPC in encouraging PETAN members by settling their debts. He said that recently, NNPC had also permitted the participation of Nigerian companies in crude oil lifting.
