The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG) have set high Nigerian Content benchmarks in the execution of the train 7 project, estimated to cost $7bn.
The organisations declared their commitment in Abuja on Tuesday at the two-day Nigerian Content Workshop organised on the project by the Nigeria LNG. The company plans to take Final Investment Decision (FID) before the close of the fourth quarter of 2018.
Participants in the workshop included local and international oil service companies that are seeking to participate in the train 7 project and the two international consortium that bided to execute the lead engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) components.
The Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Wabote stated that the workshop was designed to sensitize industry stakeholders on the local content opportunities in the project and create the platform for the identification of local supply chain capacities and capabilities that are available in-country.
He affirmed that the execution of the train 7 project would lead to the establishment of new capabilities and expansion of existing facilities, adding that the implementation of Nigerian Content in the past eight years led to the development of immense capacities and ensured that major industry projects are no longer executed overseas and shipped to Nigeria for installation.
He also expressed optimism that “the train 7 project will bring about great opportunities for utilizing local goods and services in addition to affording local companies the prospect to enhance their capacities and capabilities thereby further stimulating the local supply chain
“Similar to the legacy capacities developed on the back of the Egina project, we expect that the Train 7 project will provide the platform to expand existing businesses and create ample opportunities for new businesses as we push the boundaries of local capabilities.”
Wabote also challenged service providers to build capacity so as to position themselves for the available opportunities. The companies should also build effective and efficient supply chain, which would help them achieve high performance, he added.
He voiced his belief that the project would be developed successfully, particularly because Nigeria LNG is an Integrated Joint Venture (IJV) and investment decisions are taken by the shareholders without external influences.
In his remarks, the Managing Director, NLNG, Engr. Tony Attah, said the train 7 project would increase the production output of the company’s plant by 35 per cent from 22 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) to 30 MTP and improve foreign direct investment (FDI) into Nigeria.
Senior officials of the company also listed major scopes of the project to include engineering, procurement, construction, logistics and other services. They listed the various Nigerian Content opportunities that exist in each package and added that the project would employ 100,000 personnel on site at the peak of construction.