NAPE Conference: NCDMB Seeks Industry-Wide Support For FDIs, NOGOF, Others, To Ramp Up Crude Output, Energy Security

<h4>NAPE Conference<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a><&sol;strong> reports that as the 42nd Annual International Conference and Exhibition of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists &lpar;NAPE&rpar; got underway in Lagos on Monday&comma; the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board &lpar;NCDMB&rpar; has canvassed industry-wide support for initiatives that would reverse negative trends in Nigeria’s energy sector&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Executive Secretary&comma; NCDMB&comma; Engr&period; Felix Omatsola Ogbe&comma; in a paper entitled <strong>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Resolving the Nigerian Energy Trilemma&colon; Energy Security&comma; Sustained Growth&comma; and Affordability&comma;”<&sol;strong> identified <strong>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;alarming scale of pipeline vandalism and theft of crude oil”<&sol;strong> as the biggest threats to Nigeria’s energy security&comma; noting that major oil and gas projects are required as well as a robust security strategy based on mutually beneficial collaboration with host communities&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>To achieve the above objectives&comma; the Board has undertaken to work with stakeholders in the industry to dedicate one week in every calendar year to signing Final Investment Decisions &lpar;FIDs&rpar; on new projects&comma; as prospective investors could be motivated to act expeditiously to meet agreed-upon deadlines and regulators are similarly encouraged&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Engr&period; Ogbe noted that FDIs would &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;catalyze new projects in the Nigerian oil and gas industry&comma;” and that fruitful collaboration amongst stakeholders and NCDMB would actualize the intentions of the Presidential Directives rolled out in March 2024 by The Presidency&comma; and thus <strong>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;fast-track the contracting cycle and incentivize investments in our sector&period;”<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The NCDMB boss&comma; who was represented by the General Manager&comma; Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination&comma; Mr&period; Esueme Dan Kikile&comma; Esq&period;&comma; suggested that the FDI Week be incorporated into any of the major oil&comma; gas and energy conferences held in the country&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>According to him&comma; the Board holds a similar biennial event called <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;vanguardngr&period;com&sol;">Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair &lpar;NOGOF&rpar;&comma;<&sol;a> which is attended by all the international and indigenous operating companies to share awareness of opportunities and projects to be executed&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>On the Board’s strategy to create a safe and secure operating environment for oil and gas companies and thus eliminate the huge costs associated with vandalism and attacks on personnel and installations&comma; the Executive Secretary disclosed that NCDMB has introduced a new policy known as <strong>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Back to the Creeks Initiative&period;”<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>According to him&comma; <em><strong>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;We are convinced at the Board that the incessant tampering with crude oil pipelines and hostilities in oil-producing communities have a huge impact on energy security&comma;”<&sol;strong><&sol;em> and that the new initiative is geared towards curtailing incidences of disruptions of oil industry operations through targeted interventions&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>These include execution of corporate social responsibility projects in communities&comma; provision of affordable finance to local contractors&comma; upgrade of basic educational facilities in villages and communities&comma; building the capacity of teachers and improving the infrastructure at that level&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The initiative&comma; whose details would soon be publicized&comma; is expected to create a stakeholder feeling in host communities and make them view industry assets around them as facilities that are bound up with their socio-economic well-being&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Such an orientation would translate into safety of assets&comma; increased crude oil production&comma; drastically reduced security costs and more favourable pricing of petroleum products&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;