Hopes of new projects that would revitalize the Nigerian oil and gas industry and grow local content appear close to realization as the Managing Director and Country ChairTotalEnergies E&P Nigeria Limited, Mr. Matthieu Bouyerreconfirmed on Thursday that the company would take the final investment decision (FID) on the Ubeta gas project in 2024, while some other big projects would follow shortly.

The Managing Director made the announcement when he led senior officialsof the company to visit the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe at the Board’s Abuja liaison office.

The purpose of the visit was to congratulate the Executive Secretary on his appointment and reassure him of Total Energies’ commitment to continue developing oil and gas projects that would deliver value for the country, deepen Nigerian Content, and yield returns to the company’s shareholders.

Mr. Bouyeraffirmed that the company has an outstanding track record in Nigeria and has developed key oil and gas projects in the last 10 years. Some of the projects, he explained, were in deepwater as well as shallow water and they created Nigerian Content records, such as the fabrication of six modules of the Egina’sFloating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel in Nigeria.

The MD also confirmed that the company was determined to unlock new projects in Nigeria and solicited the continuedcooperation of the NCDMB for accelerated Nigerian Content reviews and approvals. He noted that the Ubeta project, which is located at Oil Mining Lease(OML) 58is an onshore project and is designed to contribute gas to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG)plant and meet other domestic gas supply needs.  

According to Bouyer,other projects on the horizon include the Preowei deepwater project.The proposed project lies in(OML) 130, north of Egina field, with water depth of around 5,904 feet. He assured that the company would engage closely with the NCDMB to achieve speedy development of the project,increased crude oil production for the country and revenue.

In his remarks, the Executive Secretary assured theTotalEnergies E&P team that the Board would fast-track the approvals needed by the company to deliver speedily on its oil and gas projects. While referring to the Service Level Agreement (SLA) instituted by the Board with industry’s key stakeholders for shortening the contracting cycle, the NCDMB helmsman promised that the Board would strive toimprove the turnaround time for its approvals on projects.

He further conveyed the commitment of the NCDMB tocreate an enabling environment that would attract investments and new projects into the sector, thereby creating employment opportunities for youths and addressing insecurity in the polity, in line with President Bola Tinubu Administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

He charged the company to comply with the provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, assuring that the Board would support all bankable oil and gas projects and grant accelerated approvals once they meet the specified Nigerian Content regulations.

Speaking further, the Executive Secretary proposed the constitution of a technical working group (TWG) with representatives of NCDMB and TotalEnergies E&P. He recommended that the TWG could meet quarterly to proactively address pertinent issues that relate to the company’s projects and the Board’s expected roles.

Another issue discussed at the meeting included the commitment of TotalEnergies E&P to aggregate theHuman Capacity Development (HCD) Fundon its projects and use it for strategic HCD initiatives as stipulated under the Guideline for Nigerian Content Human Capital Development Implementation Strategy, introduced by the NCDMB in June 2020. The ongoing reconciliation of Total Energies E&P’s remittance of the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF) was also deliberated upon.

Earlier on Thursday, the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) led by the Managing Director/ Vice-Chairman, Mr. Fabrizio Bolonoi visited the Board’s liaison office. The purpose of the visit was to congratulate the Executive Secretaryon his appointment and convey the company’s willingness to support his leadership and develop new oil and gas projects in Nigeria.

In his response, the Executive Secretary conveyed the Board’s readiness to support operating oil and gas companies to develop their projects expeditiously. He hinted that the country was desirous of new oil and gas projects and all hands were on deck to realize the objective, which are critical to President Tinubu administration’s economic agenda.