‘Nigerian Content Act implementation aided over $2b investments inflow’

The Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN) has stated that the Nigerian Content Act established by the previous administration has started yielding positive impacts in different sectors of the economy, especially in the oil and gas industry.

According to the OGTAN president, Dr. Afe Mayowa, the Act was one of the best things that have ever happened to the country, saying that the implementation of the law has attracted investments worth over $2 billion in the country while also creating more than 38,000 job opportunities.

Mayowa at an interactive forum with energy correspondents to herald its conference scheduled to hold on the 20th-21st of April, 2020 tagged, “Sustaining indigenous participation in the oil and gas industry through knowledge and technology transfer”, said although there is still room for improvement, stressing that the Act has practically created the current oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

“The Act has also created opportunities for our members to provide trainings in-country. We now have more trainers doing much more in the country. Ten years ago, there were very few indigenous trainers, but today, even the very few indigenous trainers are doing very little, but that has greatly changed he added.

He said Nigeria’s projection of increasing its production of crude oil from 2.3 million bpd to 2.18 million bpd is achievable, appealing to the federal government to maintain and sustain the stability in the Niger Delta through community and youth engagement.

He said: “We are in an international-driven business environment while also bearing in mind issues of volatility of the oil market beyond our control. But I can say 2.18 million bpd is achievable especially with the relative stability we have in the Niger Delta. We want to appeal to the government to maintain and sustain this stability through various programmes by engaging the youths while the companies engage the communities. If this is done, I believe the 2.18 million bpd is achievable.”

He said 2019 is a year of transformation and growth for OGTAN, noting that digitalisation is bringing forward a new wave of technologies that will change the way businesses are done, run operations and in particular, the skills required by the workforce.

He said going forward in 2020, the association would be using its conference to engage all relevant stakeholders in furtherance of OGTAN objectives, form a lobby that would ensure the draft ministerial amendment is accented to by the House of Assembly and would also continue to be in the forefront of ensuring the domiciliation of human capacity development programmes in-country.