Replication of NOGICD Act in other sectors is imperative

Cameron Valves and Measurement West Africa Limited
Cameron Valves and Measurement West Africa Limited was conceptualized over ten years ago to build local facilities for the supply and subsequently the manufacture of the Cameron range of valves in the country. Since then, the company has been continuously developing Nigerian Content in collaboration with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).

In demonstrating her commitment to the ideals of Nigerian Content Development and the NOGICD Act of 2010, Cameron recently completed the building of a new plant, located at the Onne Free Trade Zone, which was commissioned in October 2014.

The plant in Nigeria has the pre-requisite international API 6D license and ISO certifications for making valves specified for use in the Oil and Gas Industry and has the capacity to assemble, test, paint, preserve and package 7000 ball and gate valves per annum ranging in sizes from 2inch to 48inch and pressure ratings ANSI class 150 to 2500.
Buoyed by the enactment of the NOGICD Act in 2010 and the concerted effort by NCDMB to implement the provisions of the Act, Cameron embarked on building a new plant in 2012 to create the local capacity for the manufacture of valves required for projects such as Total’s EGINA FPSO, Shell’s GBARAN-UBIE and SSAGS, NLNG TRAIN 7+, BRASS LNG, and others.

During the first year of operation of the new plant, from October 2014 to September 2015, only 10% capacity utilization has been achieved which is far below break-even point but the company believes that with the collaborative effort of all stake-holders such as the IOCs, EPC contractors and NCDMB/NNPC towards the drive for Nigerian Content Development and objective enforcement of compliance with the NOGICD Act, investors in the country will ultimately achieve profitability and consequently attract other potential investors/manufacturers to develop local capacity and capability.

Prior to the promulgation of the NOGICD Act in 2010 which created NCDMB, the Nigerian Content Development initiative was administered as a division of NNPC through Directives which were not actually legally binding but depended on the willingness of all concerned parties to develop Nigerian Content. Cameron was part of the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum (NCCF) which continuously deliberated on making the NCD directives more practicable and beneficial to the Oil and Gas Industry, and eventually created the initial framework for its legalization.

Over the past five years of the NOGICD Act, many Nigerian companies have developed local capacity and capability either through partnerships with foreign entities or on their own with substantial investments in Facilities and Human Capital development. Cameron as an international company with different divisions runs three different operations in the country and has invested over two hundred million US Dollars in the last ten years.

The Valves and Measurement division of the Cameron business in Nigeria has so far achieved 45% Nigerian Content and will be in a position to double its present workforce of 48 people within the next two years if the projects now being executed by IOCs/NOCs and EPC contractors are made to comply with the NOGICD Act.

The positive impact that the NOGICD Act has made in the Oil and Gas Industry can be replicated in other sectors of the economy with tremendous benefits. If the Nigerian Content law is extended to the Power, Agricultural, ICT, Solid Minerals and Construction sectors, the country’s economy will grow at a faster rate with increased employment generation and wealth creation.