Federal Government agency, the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Local Content Monitoring Agency, Senegal on deepening of local content in Senegal’s oil and gas sector.
The signing which took place in Lagos on Tuesday at the 7th Sub Saharan Africa International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, came on the heels of Senegal’s preparation for its first oil and gas before the end of the year.
Speaking during the signing, Senegal’s representative, Deputy Permanent Secretary, COS Petrogaz, Republic of Senegal, Mamadou Fall Kane, said the country had a lot to learn from Nigeria which has achieved 54 per cent local content out of 70 per cent target by 2027.
“I had conceived this partnership framework with the NCDMB for the past one year, and it is very fulfilling that this event is holding today. With the signing of this collaboration, Senegal has a lot to learn from Nigeria on how to deepen its local content target, and this would go a long way to benefit all Senegalese as the country moves towards development of our natural resources”, he said.
The Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Simbi Wabote, explained that the partnership was not only to deepen local content in Senegal, but was also a business to business partnership, and for capacity building in the Senegal.
In his Keynote address, Group Chief Executive Officer, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, called for collaboration among African countries on more hydrocarbon discoveries in the continent.
“In the next twenty years, energy demand in Africa is expected to increase in the order of 30-35 per cent to support the projected increase in population and industrialisation. This presents an enormous opportunity for us to form partnerships across the continent and build a sustainable future.
“The need for partnership is more reinforced as more African countries continue to make hydrocarbon discoveries. We should collaborate and share knowledge and help each other in critical areas including technology, exploration and production, research and development, technical expertise and human capacity development to spread the wealth within the continent.
Source: The Punch