NCDMB, NAOC agree on speedy development of Zabazaba deep water project

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) will work together to ensure speedy development of the Zabazaba and Etan deep water project in compliance with the provisions of the Nigerian Content Act.

The two organisations reached the agreement recently at a review meeting on the project held at the Board’s headquarters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. The Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Wabote and Managing Director of NAOC, Mr. Massimo Insulla were in attendance.

Speaking at the meeting, the Executive Secretary assured that the Board will support the speedy execution of the Zabazaba and Etan project through timely review of contract tenders and execution of necessary approvals in view of the urgent need to increase the country’s crude oil production capacity and shore up revenue for the national economy.

He however stressed that the project would utilize capacities and facilities that were developed on past projects and charged the promoters to exceed the Nigerian Content performance achieved on the Egina deep water project, including the partial integration and fabrication of the Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) platform.

In his comments, the Managing Director of NAOC pledged the company’s commitment to develop the project in compliance with the Nigerian Content Act to create jobs for Nigerians and retain spend in the economy.

He underscored the support and cooperation of NCDMB since the conception of the project, noting that a speedy development would benefit all stakeholders.

According to him, the promoters of the deep water project were keen to take the Final Investment Decision (FID) and determined to make it profitable despite the sustained low price of crude oil.

Insulla confirmed that the project would generate $8bn for the Federal Government adding that the company had been engaging local and international contractors in the past four months.

Also speaking at the meeting, the General Manager, Nigerian Content, NAOC, Mr. Barry Nwibani recalled that the company organised six workshops in August and September for local and international contractors for the purposes of informing them on the Nigerian Content opportunities on different packages of the project. He stated that the workshops afforded contractors the opportunity to showcase their capacities and form alliances to enable them deliver on the project in compliance with the Nigerian Content Act.

According to Nwibani, feedback from the workshops have confirmed that there were scopes of the project where local capacity exceeded the percentages prescribed in the Nigerian Content Act while there were also scopes where existing local capacity was short of the targets set in the Act. He canvassed that the areas of significant capacity limitations would require the Board’s review to enable it decide the Capacity Development Initiatives to be developed in place of the waivers.

In his contribution, the General Manager, Projects and Operations Division, NCDMB, Engr. Paul Zuhumben charged NAOC to ensure that the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractors signs Memorandum of Agreements (MOA) with local contractors to firm up the execution of work in-country.

NAOC is developing the Zabazaba and Etan deep water integrated project in partnership with Shell Nigeria Exploration Company (SNEPCO) on Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 245.