PHCCIMA Free ‘Nigeria Content Development Awareness Summit/Exhibition’ Now Set For 13th – 14th May 2014

By Anderson Hart

For the first time in the annals of our history as a country, Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, PHCCIMA shall be breaking an age long tradition of organizing Local content summits in the country. PHCCIMA will be organizing a 'FREE' 'Nigeria Content Development Awareness Summit/Exhibition' from May 13 - 14th 2014 at the prestigious Atlantic hall of Hotel presidential, Port Harcourt.

The event is expected to set a new precedence and direction in enlightenment, promotion and exposure of Nigerian content in the country.

In collaboration with, TOTAL, Shell, AGIP, CNS Marine Nigeria Limited and Price Water House Coopers International (PWC), PHCCIMA shall be organizing the event geared towards increasing awareness and impacting knowledge of the NCD act to the targeted grassroot oil and gas community who ordinarily are unable to afford the soaring cost of high profile Nigeria Content Development conferences organized in the past.

According to the President of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Engr. Emeka Unachukwu the summit will provide a better understanding of the act, increase participation and consequently improve the average performance in the implementation of the NCD act. He said 'Nigeria Content Development Awareness Summit/Exhibition is not the usual local content summits we are accustomed to, this is peculiar in the sense that it is absolutely free and the exhibition will be one hundred percent Nigerian content to showcase individual contribution of Nigerian companies, collection of amazing manufactured oil and gas equipment and exposure to the industry by Nigerians.

Director of Local Content Directorate PHCCIMA, Larry Azubuike in his remark said the upcoming Free Nigeria Content Development Awareness Summit/Exhibition'2014 is expected to complement the effort of government in enlightening the public and major indigenous players in the oil and gas industry concerning the Nigerian Content Development Act. According to him it will unlock vistas of opportunities in the sector and open new channels of local technology advancement.

Theme for this year's event is: 'Leveraging on the Nigerian Content Development Act For Industrial Evolution' and is expected to be an annual event. It will feature highly rated resource persons as summit speakers like, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr. Ernest Nwapa, PHCCIMA president, Engr. Emeka Unachukwu, among others. Also expected to speak are, Shell Petroleum Nigeria Limited NCD General Manager, Igo Weli, and Deputy Managing Director of Total E&P, Nicolas Brunet, GM NCD Nigeria Agip oil Company, Mrs Callista Azogu, Engr. Emeka Ene President PETAN among others.

Observers have expressed disappointment over the continued flaws in implementation of the act in the country, adding that after 50 years since the exploitation of hydrocarbon started in Nigeria, the percentage of local content in the oil & gas industry is still pegged at only 5-15%. It is analyzed that the average amount spent annually in the petroleum industry, averages about US $8Billion, however only a chunk of about 5% is retained in Nigeria while the rest is lost as capital flight.

Signed into Law on April 22, 2010 by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act is designed not only to increase indigenous participation in the Nigerian oil and gas industry but also act as a spring board to encourage technology transfer as well as drive government's socio-economic development agenda.

The gains of this law could be summarized as follows: Economic growth, more employment of locals, value creation in the country, local Participation/Investment, induced expenditure in the local economy, enhanced human capacity, technology transfer among others.

Three years after passage, a comprehensive reappraisal of impact show very low success rate the legislation had increased the Nigerian content in the area of manufacturing of equipment used in the industry to about 7%. But the average performance in the implementation of the Act is a paltry 30%.