Over 300 Youths benefit as NLNG begins Nigerian Content HCD Trainings NLNG, on Tuesday, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, kicked off its Nigerian Content Human Capacity Development (NC-HCD) Basic Training Programme for the NLNG Train 7 Project, a major NC programme aimed at reskilling young graduates and developing human capital.
A total of 331 young graduates from diverse academic disciplines, who emerged successful out of 848 previously shortlisted from the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content (NOGIC) Joint Qualification System (JQS) portal of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), are undergoing the 12-month programme.
Areas of training include ICT, Engineering, Welding and Fabrication, Non-destructive Testing (NDT), Lifting and Working at Heights, Quality Management Systems, Marine and Offshore Services, and Facility Management and Maintenance.
In a welcome address at the event, the NLNG Train 7 Corporate Liaison Manager, Engr. Joshua Anemeje, who represented the Train 7 project, said the execution of the project has progressed remarkably well and attributed the successful commencement of the NC-HCD Training Programme to the support of the NCDMB.“We are excited to see the number of young men and women this programme will impact.
NLNG takes pride in empowering our people, providing an environment that builds skills and capabilities. As you know, the Train 7 Project is nearly 75% complete, employing over 10,000 skilled individuals on-site.
This training offers participants a chance to make the most of their learning and apply it in future endeavours,” he said.Engr Anemeje disclosed that there are over 10,000 workers actively engaged in the construction of the Train 7 Project at the NLNG Plant Site at Finima, Bonny Island, Rivers State.
He charged the trainees to stay focused and work towards utilising the skills they acquire for future endeavours.
In the keynote address, the NCDMB Executive Secretary, Engr Felix Ogbe, FNSE, represented by the Director of Capacity Building and Corporate Services, Dr Ama Ikuru, expressed joy that the training programme had finally taken off in fulfilment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act requirement on human capital development.He said the programme, designed to build a pool of skilled and globally competitive workers to support the development and growth of the Nigerian oil and gas industry and its related sectors, represents a crucial investment in our country’s future and remains a commitment to the empowerment of the next generation of skilled professionals.
Addressing the trainees, Dr. Ikuru stated that the opportunity created by the NC-HCD programme will enable them to build a strong foundation in both knowledge and practical skills.
He remarked that there was a clear pathway to employment for high-performing trainees.
He further remarked that young graduates seeking to benefit from similar training for oil and gas industry-related jobs can register on the NCDMB’s NOGIC JQS Portal, which is the statutorily established database for companies operating and providing services in the sector.
The training is provided by the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN).The Train 7 Project is expected to increase the production capacity of the NLNG Terminal by 35 per cent, from the current 22 million metric tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 30 mtpa.
NCDMB ES, SPDC Officials Visit Brightwaters Energy, Laud firm’s Capabilities for Industry Projects
AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM
SPONSORED BY: H&H
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, in company with senior officials of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) on Tuesday undertook a tour of facilities at Brightwaters Energy Limited, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Executive Secretary NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe leading top oil & gas stakeholders on a facility visit to Brightwaters Energy in Port Harcourt on the 29th of January, 2025.
The tour to the company’s facilities at Choba, Port Harcourt, and Emohua in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State was a follow up to the NCDMB’s boss earlier visit to the company and some pipe coating facilities in May 2024.
At that visit he pledged the Board’s support for local service companies, giving them opportunities in the oil and gas industry and creating jobs in the economy. The latest visit was to assess Brightwaters Energy’s upgrade of its technical capabilities, which would position them for upcoming industry projects.
Speaking ahead at the visit, Engr. Ogbe conveyed the Board’s determination to ensure that capabilities of local oil and gas service companies are known and adequately utilised by operating companies in the industry to boost local content and provide employment, in line with the economic aspirations of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
He recalled that Brightwaters had performed well in the execution of projects in the exploration and production segment of the industry over the years with a clientele that included SPDC and Chevron Nigeria Limited, among other major oil and gas operators.
He was convinced that the company has the capacity required for key scopes in upcoming industry projects.
He charged operating oil and gas companies to always support qualified service companies, while ensuring that the best quality service is delivered at all times and on schedule.
In opening remarks at the event, the Community and Corporate Affairs Manager of Brightwaters, Mr. Solomon Aluge, confirmed that the firm had been engaging the team from SPDC and was equipped to carry out heavy or light fabrication works.
He indicated that Brightwaters has carried out many onshore and offshore pipeline engineering and installation works for various clients.
Elaborating on the scope of operations of his company in the oil and gas sector, he pointed out that Brightwaters is “mobilizing for Chevron and Tulcan pipeline works” at the moment.
Earlier in welcome remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of Brightwaters, Mr. Scott Gregory, expressed happiness at the presence of the Executive Secretary, Engr. Ogbe, and the representatives of SPDC at the meeting, assuring all that the company has enormous capabilities for services in the oil and gas industry.
He provided technical details of a number of projects executed by the company offshore and onshore in its many years of operation in Nigeria, noting that some of the upcoming field projects were well within the company’s competencies.
Among key facilities visited in the tour were a blast furnace, where the process of smelting was demonstrated with hot compressed air being blasted into a furnace from below, and a multipurpose offshore construction vessel known as Sea Horizon Derrick Lay Barge, with a heavy-lift capacity of 1,320 tons.
Marine construction activities performed by the vessel, according to the company, include “installation of rigid and flexible pipelines, risers and umbilicals [flexible hoses that connect surface equipment to subsea equipment].”
In his comments after the facility tour, the General Manager Local Content Shell, Mr. Lanre Olawuyi conveyed the company’s good impressions with the facilities and capabilities of Brightwaters Energy.
He affirmed that the technical teams would review their reports and take decisions how to engage the company in some of their upcoming projects. He expressed delight that the company had upgraded its facilities since the last visit in May 2024, and expressed hope that facility would attract more patronage from the oil industry so it would bounce back to its former glory.
On the entourage of the Executive Secretary were the Director, Project Certification and Authorisation Division (PCAD), Engr. Abayomi Bamidele, Deputy Manager, Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, a technical staff in the Executive Secretary’s office, Mr. Ilu Ozekhome.
BUA has commenced the development of a 700-ton-per-day (700TPD), 45mmscf Mini-LNG Plant with a groundbreaking ceremony held today at Ajaokuta, Kogi State.
L-R: Nasir Giwa, Refinery Coordinator, BUA Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd.; Ahmed Usman Ododo, Executive Governor, Kogi State; Dr. Aliyu Idi Hong, Government Relations, BUA Group; Rt. Hon. Ekperikpo Ekpo, Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas); Chief Pius Akinyelure, Chairman, NNPC Board; and Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, Honourable Minister of Steel Devt. during the groundbreaking ceremony.
Present at the event is the Founder/Executive Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, with the Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo; NNPC Board Chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure; GCEO NNPC, Mele Kyari; Authority Executive of NMDPRA, Engr. Farook Ahmed and other eminent dignitaries including various stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, the Founder/Executive Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu said in his speech: “This LNG plant, which we are doing the groundbreaking today, also embodies that spirit. Upon completion, it will ensure that BUA’s captive power plants are provided with much-needed gas with limited supply downtime, thus enhancing our production and manufacturing capacity while positioning BUA to be fully integrated into the value chain of our energy supply operations”.
He stated that the project is a win-win for Nigeria and is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s vision and promoting gas usage for cleaner energy. NNPC will provide critical gas feedstock for a 10% stake in the plant, and BUA will provide 100% financing while driving execution. This is a testament that public-private partnerships under the right government policies can deliver transformative results.
The BUA LNG plant will ensure cost efficiency, supply stability, and sustainability for BUA’s operations while reinforcing Nigeria’s industrial future. Covering a land area of about 16 hectares, it will primarily serve BUA’s captive power plants across its manufacturing businesses in Nigeria and provide gas for other uses within the country. This is geared towards operational efficiency in alignment with the national energy transition initiative.
The GCEO NNPC, Mele K. Kyari, in his speech stated that it is rightly timed to have these 5 mini-LNG plants in Kogi State of which BUA LNG is one, considering its strategic location at the crossroads of Nigeria’s North and South, in Ajaokuta, Kogi State.
The signing ceremony for the project, which held within the week at NGML headquarters in Abuja, was attended by BUA’s Group Executive Director, Kabiru Rabiu, Chief Legal Officer, Oluseye Alayande, and NGML’s leadership team led by Justin Ezeala.
NCDMB ES, SPDC Officials Visit Brightwaters Energy, Laud firm’s Capabilities for Industry Projects
AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM
SPONSORED BY: H&H
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, in company with senior officials of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) on Tuesday undertook a tour of facilities at Brightwaters Energy Limited, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Executive Secretary NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe leading top oil & gas stakeholders on a facility visit to Brightwaters Energy in Port Harcourt on the 29th of January, 2025.
The tour to the company’s facilities at Choba, Port Harcourt, and Emohua in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State was a follow up to the NCDMB’s boss earlier visit to the company and some pipe coating facilities in May 2024.
At that visit he pledged the Board’s support for local service companies, giving them opportunities in the oil and gas industry and creating jobs in the economy.
The latest visit was to assess Brightwaters Energy’s upgrade of its technical capabilities, which would position them for upcoming industry projects. Speaking ahead at the visit, Engr. Ogbe conveyed the Board’s determination to ensure that capabilities of local oil and gas service companies are known and adequately utilised by operating companies in the industry to boost local content and provide employment, in line with the economic aspirations of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
He recalled that Brightwaters had performed well in the execution of projects in the exploration and production segment of the industry over the years with a clientele that included SPDC and Chevron Nigeria Limited, among other major oil and gas operators.
He was convinced that the company has the capacity required for key scopes in upcoming industry projects.
He charged operating oil and gas companies to always support qualified service companies, while ensuring that the best quality service is delivered at all times and on schedule.
In opening remarks at the event, the Community and Corporate Affairs Manager of Brightwaters, Mr. Solomon Aluge, confirmed that the firm had been engaging the team from SPDC and was equipped to carry out heavy or light fabrication works.
He indicated that Brightwaters has carried out many onshore and offshore pipeline engineering and installation works for various clients.
Elaborating on the scope of operations of his company in the oil and gas sector, he pointed out that Brightwaters is “mobilizing for Chevron and Tulcan pipeline works” at the moment.
Earlier in welcome remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of Brightwaters, Mr. Scott Gregory, expressed happiness at the presence of the Executive Secretary, Engr. Ogbe, and the representatives of SPDC at the meeting, assuring all that the company has enormous capabilities for services in the oil and gas industry.
He provided technical details of a number of projects executed by the company offshore and onshore in its many years of operation in Nigeria, noting that some of the upcoming field projects were well within the company’s competencies.
Among key facilities visited in the tour were a blast furnace, where the process of smelting was demonstrated with hot compressed air being blasted into a furnace from below, and a multipurpose offshore construction vessel known as Sea Horizon Derrick Lay Barge, with a heavy-lift capacity of 1,320 tons.
Marine construction activities performed by the vessel, according to the company, include “installation of rigid and flexible pipelines, risers and umbilicals [flexible hoses that connect surface equipment to subsea equipment].”
In his comments after the facility tour, the General Manager Local Content Shell, Mr. Lanre Olawuyi conveyed the company’s good impressions with the facilities and capabilities of Brightwaters Energy.
He affirmed that the technical teams would review their reports and take decisions how to engage the company in some of their upcoming projects.
He expressed delight that the company had upgraded its facilities since the last visit in May 2024, and expressed hope that facility would attract more patronage from the oil industry so it would bounce back to its former glory.
On the entourage of the Executive Secretary were the Director, Project Certification and Authorisation Division (PCAD), Engr. Abayomi Bamidele, Deputy Manager, Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, a technical staff in the Executive Secretary’s office, Mr. Ilu Ozekhome.