Before the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content
Development (NOGICD) Act in 2010, only a few International Oil
Companies (IOCs) had deliberately put in place policies to build,
enhance and sustain the capacity of indigenous companies and
contractors to enable them to fully participate in Nigeria’s oil and
gas industry.
Eight years after the Act was enacted, the situation has changed
significantly as recently emphasized by Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, the
Executive Secretary, the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board
(NCDMB). According to him, “Before the NOGICD Act, only 3 per cent of
the marine vessels used in the industry belonged to Nigerians, but
today, Nigerians control and own 36 per cent of vessels. From a zero
active dry-dock facilities for vessels, the country now has four
active dry-docking facilities and over 35,000 jobs have been created
as a result of the NOGICD Act.” Also, local businesses have been
empowered to handle fabrication of more than 60,000 tons;
manufacturing of cables bolts, nuts and flanges and assembling of
offshore Christmas trees as well as infrastructure for integration of
Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facilities.
Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), with its affiliates in the country, is
one of the IOCs that had a pre-NOGICD policy in place and has in the
post-NOGICD era remained committed to Nigerian Content Development
(NCD) by partnering with the NCDMB to significantly grow Nigerian
Content in the oil and gas industry. In its 2017 Corporate
Responsibility Report, CNL states that the company’s investment in NC
was approximately US$2 billion while procurement of materials through
Local Community Contractors (LCC) and cost of services provided by
indigenous companies were $74 million and $284 million respectively.
CNL’s four-prong approach to NCD includes: selection of qualified
local contractors; facilitation of partnerships and alliances between
indigenous companies and foreign firms; capacity building; and
development of local competencies.
Chairman/Managing Director, CNL, Jeff Ewing, explains the company’s
stance on NCD thus: “At Chevron Nigeria Limited, we demonstrate our
commitment to the socio-economic development of Nigeria by building
mutually-beneficial partnerships, and supporting the policies of
government on Nigerian Content Development. We have helped in building
the capacities of several Nigerian businesses by allocating
substantial scopes of our major capital projects to Nigerian
companies. Chevron is also helping to grow the Nigerian economy by
contributing to the development of communities in the areas of our
operation. We do all this, not just because it is required by the law,
but because it is the right thing to do.”
The various areas in which Chevron implements the NOGICD Act in
Nigeria include human capacity development, facility fabrication,
construction and installation. Others include support for facility
acquisition, facilitation of partnerships between local and foreign
contractors, and provision of opportunities for local community
contractors through work scope allocation in Chevron’s major capital
projects in Nigeria. Some of the highlights of CNL’s Nigerian Content
success stories include the patronage of Oando Energy Services (OES)
Limited and SOWSCO Well Services Nigeria Limited for cementing and
pumping services for well drilling contracts. The company also
supported Jemtech Global Engineering Services Limited, a local
community contractor to fabricate the wellhead jacket for the Abiteye
Non-Associated Gas (NAG) Development Project and procured locally
assembled desktops and laptops worth millions of Naira from Task
Systems Ltd and Zinox Systems.
On human capacity development, the company in partnership with the
Nigerian Content Human Capacity Development Initiative (NCHCDI) has
continued to train and equip Nigerians to deliver value through
executive and management training, technical and professional skills
training, and on-the-job training during project execution. CNL in
partnership with NCDMB and Idmon Engineering Services Ltd trained 26
Nigerians on its Sonam – Okan Pipeline Pig Receiver Fabrication
Project. The 12-month classroom and on-the-job training covered
Health, Environment and Safety (HES); Information and Communication
Technology; Project Management; Quality Management; Fabrication and
Assembly processes; Fabrication Engineering;
Welding/Fitting/Rigging/Scaffolding processes; Entrepreneurship; and
Material Management. In addition, CNL awarded a contract to local
consulting firm, Lonadek, to develop and pilot a Human Capacity
Development Initiative training plan for CNL’s Drilling and
Completions Unit.
Chevron supported Marine Platforms Limited (MPL), to become a major
player in the Subsea industry, an area previously dominated by
international companies. MPL handled the Subsea Installation of
flowlines, umbilical’s and jumpers on Agbami Phase 3 project. On
fabrication, construction and installation, Chevron facilitated the
delivery by FMC Technologies of the first assembled-in-Nigeria Subsea
Horizontal Xmas Tree, and the fabrication in Nigeria of Agbami
production manifolds for the Agbami Phase 3 Project by FMC
Technologies/Aveon Offshore Nigeria Limited. Chevron also facilitated
the safe, timely and successful installation of subsea equipment such
as flexible flowlines, umbilicals and jumpers on the Agbami Phase 3
project by a Nigerian Contractor – Marine Platforms Limited.
CNL also facilitated the fabrication and load out of the Offshore
Platform Topsides and Bridge Connection for the Sonam Non-Associated
Gas Well Platform (NWP) by Nigerdock Plc; the fabrication and load-out
of the Okan PRP Topsides; Bridge Fabrication of Okan PRP jacket by
Globestar in partnership with Idmon Engineering and Construction Co.
Limited; Installation of the 32km and 24” Sonam to Okan NWP pipeline
by West African Ventures Limited; and the coating of the pipes used
for the Sonam Development Project and Escravos Export System Project
(EESP) by Pipe Coaters Nigeria Limited.
The Executive Secretary, NCDMB, highlighted Chevron’s NCD achievements
in 2017, during the passing out ceremony of earth science
graduate-interns that were trained by Chevron. He stated: “In terms of
fabrication, Chevron has done a lot. I am sure you heard about the
Sonam project which was done in Nigeria. A lot of the fabrication
happened here, a lot of the engineers that were on that project are
Nigerians. You also heard about the pipeline project Chevron is
currently executing – the contractors are Nigerians and most of the
vessels that are deployed for that project are owned by Nigerians. So,
I think in human capacity, development-wise, they (CNL) have done a
lot on fabrication as well as logistic services and trickling that
down to community participation in their operations.”
Chevron’s commitment to Nigerian Content development did not start
today. The Agbami project set industry standards by fabricating more
than 10,000 tonnes of steel with Nigerian fabrication companies, the
highest ever recorded in Nigeria. Chevron also trained 105 Nigerian
engineers from 21 engineering companies in South Korea. The Escravos
Gas Project (EGP) has employed over 1,800 Nigerians and sourced
millions of Dollars’ worth of services (engineering, procurement,
fabrication, marine etc.) locally.
Also, the Escravos Gas-to-Liquids (EGTL) project provided employment
to more than 15,000 Nigerians during the construction phase of the
project. In addition, the project awarded huge sub-contracts to local
community contractors, sent 234 Nigerians on a 30-month training
program in South Africa at the Synthetic Fuel Facilities of Sasol and
trained over 7,000 Nigerians in Technical Skill Crafts, Plant
Operation and Maintenance, Business and Project Management, Logistics
and Supply Chain Management and Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW)
processes.
CNL demonstrated unprecedented support for the local barite mining
industry by donating barite mining equipment worth $1.4 million and
training to the Association of Miners and Producers of Barite (AMAPOB)
to boost the supply and quality of local barite, reduce importation of
barite and create jobs for the local communities.
For CNL’s MD, Chevron will continue to “empower Nigerian service
providers and suppliers through: human and business capacity
development; local patronage and work scope allocation; fostering of
business partnerships and sponsorship of research and development
programmes to enhance the capacity of indigenous companies to
participate in the oil and gas industry.”