Steve Agbota
The Nigerian Institute of Marine Engineers and Navard Architects (NIMENA) has said that Total’s Egina fell short of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act signed into law in 2010 on fabrication and wellding in the country.
Speaking at the 8th Annual Conference and General Meeting with the theme: “Local Content in Nigerian Maritime Industry: Policies, Implementation, Challenges and prospects,” organised by NIMENA in Lagos, the Institute’s Chairman, Henry Unuigbe, said that section of the Act emphasises the need for all entities engaged in the Nigeria oil and gas industry to ensure that all fabrication and welding activities are carried out in the country.
He lamented: “This was not so in the case of Egina as part of the project was executed in South Korea. It is noted that a key facility in the construction of project of that kind, a suitable shipyard, was lacking in Nigeria. Whereas section 47 and 48 of the same Act require making regulation and giving tax incentives to encourage investment in local facilities, we are yet to see how that has helped to grow local shipbuilding capacity.
“For Nigeria to maximise the benefit from such huge projects, emphasis must be placed on encouraging the development of shipbuilding yards large enough to accommodate the construction of facilities like FPSO and other large vessels. The economic value chain such investment will provide for Nigeria is better imagined.”
While commending the government and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board for their efforts, he added that a lot still needs to be done to ensure that the full benefit of the NOGICD Act is achieved.
Unuigbe noted, “that the Cabotage Act 2003 is another legal instrument meant to encourage capacity building, this time, in the maritime industry. While we are not oblivious of the efforts being made to deliver on some of the expectations of the maritime community, I think there is a lot to be done to improve local capacity.”
On the conference, focus on Local Content on NIMENA, it means building local skills and manpower including building local infrastructure and competitive supplier base, saying for experience, every country that has embraces Local Content concept is no doubt enjoying the prosperity that accompany such laudable initiative.
