NCDMB To Revive Africoat’s Moribund $42m Oil & Gas Project

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) is set to revive Africoat’s Moribund $42million Oil & Gas Project, now lying fallow in Lagos due to unresolved issues.

The move is part of efforts by the board to provide opportunities for indigenous companies to execute jobs in the oil and gas industry.

A visit to key projects by the executive secretary of the board, Omatsola Ogbe, opened door for negotiations with Africoat, where the NCDMB boss challenged the firm’s management to resolve the protracted dispute they have with their bankers, as well as their landlord, Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics (LADOL).

The dispute had stopped the plant from operating since its completion in 2017.

Ogbe suggested that a peaceful settlement would allow for the plant to be rehabilitated, before it can work for the industry, benefit the investors, and create jobs for the economy.

The managing director of Africoat, Frank Twynam confirmed that efforts were ongoing to resolve the impasse.

He noted that $US42 million was invested to develop the corrosion and concrete weight coating plant, hinting that a robust plan was already in place to restore the facility once the dispute is resolved.

Ogbe, had on Monday, visited the facilities of Samsung Heavy Industries Nigeria (SHIN), and Africoat Nigeria Limited, a pipe coating plant, located at Tarkwa Bay, Lagos. The visit is consistent with Ogbe’s determination to assess oil and gas facilities across the country as a prelude for their participation in ongoing and upcoming major oil industry projects.

The NCDMB played key roles in accelerating approvals for the new projects, which include Ubeta gas development project, currently being developed by Total Energies, and Bonga North, for which Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) had announced the final investment decision (FID) in December 2024.

Similarly, the Zabazaba deep-water project is being readied by ENI and Shell, just as preparations for the HI and HA gas projects are being concluded by (SNEPCo).

The NCDMB’s boss conveyed the Agency’s determination to continue partnering with IOCs to develop new projects, and to ensure they execute key scopes of those projects using local firms with proven capabilities, as mandated by the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.

He asserted that NCDMB’s mandate and activities are contributing to actualising President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic agenda, particularly in catalysing new oil and gas projects, job creation and economic revitalisation.

At the Samsung Heavy Industries, the managing director, Jin Lee highlighted the firm’s in-country capacities, which include heavy fabrication and FPSO integration quayside.  He reiterated the company’s experience in executing major oil and gas projects, notably the fabrication and integration of six modules for the TotalEnergies’ Egina FPSO in 2018.

The Business Development manager, SHIN, David Bruce Inglis said the company trains welders in different specialisations and had trained 560 welders during the execution of the Egina project, including women.

He said the facility employed over 1000 persons at the peak of the Egina project, but the capacity was now scaled down to 131, owing to lack of projects.

The company, he said, has a database of past employees and would re-engage some of them if they win a new major project.

He also hinted that the company planned to manufacture oil and gas components and equipment in Nigeria for export to other parts of the world, confirming that the SHIN facility had adequate installed capacity and capabilities for export, and Nigeria enjoys a vintage geographical location for such business opportunities.