Stories by Musa Adamu
Abuja
The Federal government has hinted of its decision to cut the contracting cycle in the Nigerian oil and gas industry from the current policy of between two to four years to just six months.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, stated this at the stakeholders’ interactive workshop on Nigerian content policy organised by the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) in Calabar.
He identified the long contracting cycle as a major contributor to the high cost per barrel of Nigerian crude oil compared to other OPEC member countries.
He said multiplicity of bidders, application of manual tools in bid evaluation and divergent tender requirements by approving entities such as the NCDMB, NAPIMS and the IOCs were other challenges faced in the industry.
Represented by the Group General Manager, NAPIMS, Dafe Sejebor, he stated that the contract approving entities were already implementing his charge to strategise and develop a single contracting procedure which will soon be issued to the industry.
He confirmed plans to categorise companies that had invested heavily in the economy and become local content champions for specific work scopes in a way that would facilitate contract opportunities.
He explained that these measures would enhance transparency and further boost investor confidence.
He noted that a good number of Nigerians had been motivated by the Nigerian oil and gas industry content development (NOGICD) Act to acquire high cost marine vessels and oil rigs.
He assured that the Act’s provision of first consideration for Nigerian owned assets shall always apply in tenders related to utilisation of rigs or marine vessels.