Energy

By Ali Elias At the final panel of the African Local Content Forum during Africa Oil Week, held at Kempinski Hotel, Accra, Ghana,  strategies to unlock affordable and sustainable funding for oil and gas businesses were front and centre, with stakeholders emphasising innovation, energy transition, and compliance with ESG (environmental, social, governance) standards. The session was moderated by Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, General Manager of Corporate Communications at the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), with panelists representing African nations including Nigeria, Angola, Namibia and others.Panelists included Fateemah Mohammed, General Manager of the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF); Bob Felix Ocitti of the African Energy Commission (AFREC); Funmi Ogbue, ...

By PR Close partnership and collaboration among African oil and gas producing countries are some of the strategies that would enable sustainable development of Africa’s oil industry, according to discussants at the Africa Content Forum, a segment at the 2025 Africa Oil Week holding in Accra, Ghana. The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe delivered the keynote address at the forum. Represented by the Director Corporate Services, Dr. Abdulmalik Halilu, the Executive Secretary pointed out that no single African country can fully develop its local content potentials and support her the oil and gas industry without the collaboration of other nations, hence the need for close partnership with other nations. He pointed...

By Ali Elias Abuja’s National Industrial Court has issued an interim order barring the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association from initiating or compelling other drivers to join any industrial action that could disrupt the operations of Dangote Refinery and its partners, MRS Oil Nigeria Plc and MRS Oil and Gas Company Ltd. The restraining order, granted by Justice E. D. Subilim in an ex parte motion filed on behalf of Dangote Refinery, was justified on grounds that prolonged disruption would result in “irreparable damage” to the refinery’s operations. The judge said the balance of convenience tilts in favour of the refinery, given its critical role in the petroleum supply chain. The injunction lasts for seven...

By PR The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, on Tuesday acknowledged the advanced capabilities and proven track record of a leading indigenous service company, West African Ventures (WAV) Nigeria Limited, noting that the firm and others well established Nigerian companies need to pivot to the deepwater segment of oil and gas operations where vast opportunities exist.  Speaking during a facility tour of the WAV Fabrication Yard, Machine Shop, and jetties at the Federal Ocean Terminal (FOT), Onne, in Rivers State, the Executive Secretary revealed that he awarded the company their first offshore pipe-laying contract when he (Ogbe) served as the Construction Manager with Chevron Nigeria Limited, recalling ...

By PR A five-day training programme for 50 young facility engineers, organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in conjunction with Ijalla Engineering Services Limited, reached the concluding phase on Thursday in Port Harcourt with special focus on project cost management in oil and gas, and maintenance records and documentation. The engineers, shortlisted from the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content (NOGIC) Joint Qualification System (JQS) Portal of the NCDMB, were introduced to costing for a structured Field Development Plan (FDP) Programme over four phases (2026-2029), centring on activities such as well intervention, drilling campaigns, flowline installations, surface facility upgrades, and compression station expansion. Such operations, accor...

By PR The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board has been named Government Partner of the Year by the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria at its 4th Annual Human Capital Development Awards 2025 in Lagos. The award was received at an event on Friday by Executive Secretary, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe.  In his acceptance speech at the event themed ‘Indigenous Excellence and Human Capital: Partners for the Future of Energy’, Ogbe described the recognition as a tribute to the Board’s partners, stakeholders and Nigerians who share the vision that human capital is the most valuable resource for industrial growth.  “This honour is not just a recognition of NCDMB as an institution; it is a celebration of the vision, r...

By Ali Elias NNPC Retail Limited has reported a staggering N395.5 billion loss for the 2024 financial year, its first full-year result since the controversial acquisition of OVH Energy Marketing Limited.The loss stands in sharp contrast to the N20.18 billion profit the downstream subsidiary of NNPC Limited posted in 2022, before the deal that saw management of NNPC Retail effectively handed over to OVH.According to the company’s audited financials, NNPC Retail’s net liability position grew to N278.8 billion in 2024, up from N79.5 billion in the previous year. Its net current liability rose to N423.6 billion, reversing from a positive position of N29.6 billion in 2023.The report attributed the losses to non-recurring items, including a N117 billion impairment of receivables and reconcili...

By PR As part of its mandate to drive research and development in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) will be hosting a 2025 Technology Innovation Challenge Workshop. The workshop, themed “Stimulating Industry and Economic Growth through Indigenous Technology Innovation,” will take place on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, at the Pavilion by Golden Tulip, G.R.A, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, starting at 10:00 a.m. WAT. The event will run in a hybrid format, with physical attendance strictly by invitation and virtual participation open to the public through Zoom. Organised through NCDMB’s Technology Innovation and Incubation Centre (TIIC), the workshop will guide innovators, researchers, and academia on the Board’s expectations for...

By PR The former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Prof. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu has canvassed that the $450m Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund) be increased to US$1bn, to cater for the funding of mega of oil and gas projects, setting up of pipe mills and manufacturing of other critical equipment needed in the oil and gas sector. He also recommended that oil and gas producing companies should provide timelines for developing oil and gas blocks, same condition for firms that win industry contracts based on commitments of investments. He made these recommendations and dwelt on similar issues on Monday at the Business Mentorship Lecture Series organised virtually by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB). The webinar drew nearly 500 participants ...

By PR The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Bayelsa State Office, on Wednesday in Yenagoa, pledged to deepen collaboration in human capacity Development (HCD), just as the Board was proclaimed Best-in-Training Contribution by the Fund. The Executive Secretary of the Board, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, speaking through the General Manager, Human Capacity Development (HCD), Barr. Esueme Dan Kikile, welcomed the ITF Management team, led by the Area Manager, Mrs. Oluwatosin Akingbola, to the Nigerian Content Tower (NCT), noting that the similarities in their respective mandates was a compelling ground for close collaboration. He recalled that the Board has had collaboration with the ITF at the national level, with the corpo...