BUSINESS
We’ve Achieved Self-sufficiency in Fabrication – NCDMB
From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) said it has achieved self-sufficiency in indigenous fabrication and was already exporting fabrication capacity to other African countries.
The NCDMB on Tuesday announced the conclusion of a 260,000 metric tons project for Nigerian offshore oilfields by wholly indigenous expertise and manpower.
General Manager, Corporate Communications at NCDMB, Esueme Dan-Kikile, announced the feat at the 2023 Capacity Building Workshop for Media Stakeholders in Port Harcourt.
According to the Board, the country presently has excess fabrication capacity, adding that projects that would have been fabricated elsewhere in the world can now be conveniently domiciled in Nigeria following implementation of Nigerian Content policy.
Dan-Kikile explained that there was nothing in the oil and gas sector that needed to be fabricated in the world which Nigerians do not have the capacity to handle.
He said that Local Content in the Nigerian Oil and Gas sector currently at 54 per cent, adding that the Board’s new leadership under the new Executive Secretary hopes to grow it to 70 per cent by 2027.
He emphasised the media’s importance in advancing local capacity development and urged them to scrutinise the NCDMB‘s Nigeria Content activities for greater effectiveness.
He said, “Part of the Nigerian Content 10-year plan is to ensure that there are key fabrication centres in Nigeria, and we have surpassed that target. Our plan was to be able to meet over a hundred metric tonnes of fabrication in-country, but as we speak we have over 260,000metric tonnes of fabrication in-country.
“So we have exceeded the plans we had in place. As we speak there is excess capacity in fabrication. Some of our companies in Nigeria (PETAN) are now working outside the country, particularly in Senegal and other West African countries.
“In terms of human capacity, we have Nigerians who have the ability to sit in leadership positions in the entire oil and gas industry value chain, and that is already happening. We are not looking at 100 per cent now because we still need activities that will be done outside in terms of investors’ interest.”
Also, NCDMB’s General Manager, Research, Statistics and Development, Omomehin Ajimijaye, said that the NCDMB was using Research and Development (R&D) to drive growth of Nigerian Content
According to him, the board has set aside a $50 million R&D Fund and has established R&D Centres of excellence in five Universities across Nigeria and urged Nigerian researchers to draw from the fund.
He assuring that the board would continue to facilitate the acceptance of products of indigenous researched and developed that meet industry standards, as part of its effort developing enhancing local capacity
“We at NCDMB give them that assurance that if you are able to do your research, and develop your products, that will help the industry, we will push your products to be used in the industry and give right of first refusal,” he said.
He said as part of NCDMB efforts, Nigeria was already exporting paints and cables used outside the country.
He listed the challenges facing research and development to include, skills gap, infrastructure gaps, access to data, policy gaps, research and Development culture.
The workshop drew Media Practitioners from Bayelsa and Rivers States.
BUSINESS
NNPC Posts N7.2trn Profit amid Revenue Decline
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPC Ltd.) recorded N7.2 trillion Profit After Tax (PAT) in 2025, a 33 per cent increase from N5.4 trillion.
Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at a media briefing after the company’s AGM and second Earnings Call.
Revenue declined to N34.
5 trillion from N45.1 trillion in 2024.Ojulari attributed the 24 per cent revenue decline to lower crude oil prices and reduced product volumes following market deregulation.
He said earnings per share rose to N35.
90 from N27.07, while return on equity improved by 200 basis points to 16 per cent.The company’s declared dividend increased by 35 per cent to N5.8 trillion, while taxes, royalties and other government remittances rose 39 per cent to N22.3 trillion.
“Stronger earnings in spite of this pressure demonstrate the resilience of NNPC Limited’s operations,” Ojulari said.
He said profit grew because NNPC had improved its operations and maintained discipline across its businesses.
Ojulari said crude oil and condensate production reached a five-year peak of 1.77 million barrels per day.
He added that gas supply reached a three-year high of 7.2 billion standard cubic feet per day.
“Stronger performance gives NNPC Limited more capacity to invest, contribute to public revenue and strengthen Nigeria’s energy security,” he said.
On infrastructure, Ojulari said the mainline of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline had been completed.
He said work was ongoing on tie-ins to delivery points, beginning with Abuja, followed by Ajaokuta and Kaduna.
According to him, the next milestone is to commence gas flow through the pipeline to industries and power plants.
Ojulari said the company completed the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas pipeline in 2026 after several years of challenges.
On the refineries, he said prospective partners under NNPC’s technical equity partnership model had conducted a three-month onsite review.
He said more than 34 engineers participated in the review, adding that NNPC was now concluding the report.
Ojulari said the company was targeting self-sustaining and profitable refineries, with a pathway expected to be defined soon.
He reaffirmed NNPC’s target of producing two million barrels of crude oil daily by 2027 and three million barrels by 2030.
He said gas production targets were 10 billion cubic feet per day by 2027 and 12 billion by 2030.
“NNPC plans to mobilise over 60 billion dollars of investment across the energy value chain,” he added.
Ojulari said more than 1,000 newly recruited professionals joined NNPC in 2025 under its Talent to Value programme.
He said the recruits completed a one-year internship and training programme before being deployed across the company. (NAN)
BUSINESS
FCCPC Calls for Improved Capacity Building on Competition Reporting, Matters
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) says there is a need for sustained capacity building in competition reporting and issues.
The Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC, Tunji Bello, said this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.
Bello described competition matters as a relatively new area in the country adding that it required specialised knowledge among journalists, regulators and other stakeholders.
He said that competition law and consumer protection regulations had made stakeholders’ education a priority for the commission.
Bello said that the FCCPC recently supported the training of judges through the National Judicial Institute (NJI) to deepen understanding of competition-related matters.
He noted that members of the judiciary also required exposure to the nuances of the emerging field.
“We recognised that because it is a new terrain, the judges themselves are not familiar with the nuances.
”So we brought in experts on competition,” he said.
Bello stressed that the media had a critical role in promoting public understanding of competition and consumer protection issues.
“If FCCPC is becoming more known to the public, it is as a result of the kind of publicity you have given us,” he said. (NAN)
BUSINESS
Fire Guts Customs Western Marine Command Office in Lagos
Fire gutted the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Western Marine Command office in Apapa, Lagos, on Monday, destroying property worth millions of Naira.
The fire, which reportedly started at about 10:23 a.m. from an electrical surge in the conference room, spread to other sections of the building.
Officers on duty made frantic efforts to contain the fire before officials of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service arrived at about 10:45 a.
m.The Deputy Comptroller of Customs, Timothy Jonah, who just resumed at the Command, to take over the affairs from his predecessor, described the incident as unfortunate.
He said: “I just resumed duty to take over, only to witness this fire outbreak.
“Every challenge, though negative, is an opportunity to strengthen our operations.
“In the meantime, we will set up a committee to investigate the cause of the fire.”
He commended the swift response of the personnel on duty and their collaboration with the fire service, saying measures would be taken to strengthen safety protocols and prevent a recurrence. (NAN)


