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NCDMB to Launch New Contracting Cycle Guidelines to Boost Oil Production

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NCDMB

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has announced plans to launch new Contracting Cycle Guidelines for the oil and gas industry.

This is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s directives for acceleration of oil and gas contract timelines, incentivising investments in the sector and increasing Nigeria’s crude oil production, according to the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Mr Felix Omatsola Ogbe.

He announced this at the two-day Contracting Cycle Guidelines Sensitization Workshop organized by the Project Certification and Authorization Directorate of the Board for international and indigenous oil and gas companies operating in the country.

The workshop provided a platform for NCDMB to explain the provisions of the guidelines and how it would implement them in alignment with the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development, NOGICD, Act and the Presidential Directives.

Mr Ogbe represented by the Director of Project Certification and Authorization at the commission, Mr Abayomi Bamidele, emphasised that NCDMB was a business enabler hence the decision to get stakeholders’ feedback before finalizing and launching the guidelines at the forthcoming Practical Nigerian Content Workshop slated for December 3-5, 2024 at the Nigerian Content Tower, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

To further assist the companies, he promised that NCDMB would convene a technical workshop in the first quarter of 2025 to train personnel of operating and service oil and gas companies on how to efficiently complete various technical documents utilized in oil and gas contracting process.

“The three Presidential Directives are the Presidential Directive on Local Content Compliance, Presidential Directive on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Cost and Timelines; and Presidential Directive on Oil and Gas Companies (Tax Incentives, Exemption, Remission, etc).”

Commenting on the objectives of the Presidential Directives, Mr Ogbe canvassed that for Nigeria to deepen local content practice and grow the sector, it must eliminate premium margins charged by some service companies, stop frequent policy changes and ensure that final investment decisions were signed regularly, to catalyse new projects.

He recommended that at least one or two FIDs should be signed at the annual oil and gas conferences, to create activities in the sector.

“The Presidential Directive on Local Content Compliance addressed issues pertaining to NCDMB, while the Presidential Directive on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Cost and Timelines referred to NCDMB and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company and its investment arm, the NNPC Upstream Investment Services, NUIS.

“NCDMB is working to support oil firms to accelerate their projects and take advantage of the incentives provided by the Presidential Directive on Oil and Gas Companies (Tax Incentives, Exemption, Remission,) etc,”

“The Board was mandated to develop templates to collapse its touchpoints on the contracting cycle to enhance the business environment within the provisions of the law.

“Accordingly the Board has reduced its touchpoints from nine to five for open tenders and selective tenders, while retaining only four touchpoints for single source contract.

“Another goal of the Presidential Directive is to eliminate intermediaries with no demonstrable capacity and to develop structured processes to determine, verify and document in-country capacities and capabilities.

“The Board has adopted robust pre-qualification and technical evaluation process, policy revisions to provide clarity on in-country value addition for OEM representatives and in-country capacity audit every two years.

“Another objective of the Presidential Directive is to target global benchmarks. Thus, NCDMB is proposing the co-creation of tender cost templates/tariffs, the promotion of joint venture of local/foreign service companies, the adoption of robust waiver management system by the Board and conveyor belt of at least two final investment decision (FID) per year.”

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

Economy

Petrol Supply up 55.4% as Daily Consumption Reaches 52.1 million Litres

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By Adedapo Adesanya

The supply of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, increased by 55.4 per cent on a month-on-month basis to 71.5 million litres per day in November 2025 from 46 million litres per day in October.

This was contained in the November 2025 fact sheet of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on Monday.

The data showed that the nation’s consumption also increased by 44.5 per cent or 37.4 million litres to 52.1 million litres per day in November 2025, against 28.9 million litres in October.

The significant increase in petrol supply last month was on account of the imports by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited into the Nigerian market from both the domestic and the international market.

Domestic refineries supplied in the period stood at 17.1 million litres per day, while the average daily consumption of PMS for the month was 52.9 million litres per day.

The NMDPRA noted that no production activities were recorded in all the state-owned refineries, which included Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries, in the period, as the refineries remained shut down.

According to the report, the imports were aimed at building inventory and further guaranteeing supply during the peak demand period.

Other reasons for the increase, according to the NMDPRA, were due to “low supply recorded in September and October 2025, below the national demand threshold; the need for boosting national stock level to meet the peak demand period of end of year festivities, and twelve vessels programmed to discharge into October, which spilled into November.”

On gas, the average daily gas supply climbed to 4.684 billion standard cubic feet per day in November 2025, from the 3.94 bscf/d average processing level recorded in October.

The Nigeria LNG Trains 1-6 also maintained a stable processing output of 3.5 bscf/d in November 2025, but utilisation improved slightly to 73.7 per cent compared with 71.68 per cent in October.

The increase, according to the report, was driven by higher plant utilisation across processing hubs and steady export volumes from the Nigeria LNG plant in Bonny.

“As of November 2025, Nigeria’s major gas processing facilities recorded improved output and utilisation levels, with the Nigeria LNG Trains 1-6 processing 3.50 billion standard cubic feet per day at a utilisation rate of 73.70 per cent.

“Gbaran Ubie Gas Plant processed 1.250 bscf per day, operating at 71.21 per cent utilisation, while the MPNU Bonny River Terminal recorded a throughput of 0.690 bscf per day during the period. Processing activities at the Escravos Gas Plant stood at 0.680 bscf per day, representing a 62 per cent utilisation rate, whereas the Soku Gas Plant emerged as the top performer, processing 0.600 bscf per day at 96.84 per cent utilisation,” it stated.

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Economy

Secure Electronic Technology Suspends Share Reconstruction as Investors Pull Out

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Secure Electronic Technology

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The proposed share reconstruction of a local gaming firm, Secure Electronic Technology (SET), has been suspended.

The Lagos-based company decided to shelve the exercise after negotiations with potential investors crumbled like a house of cards.

Secure Electronic Technology was earlier in talks with some foreign investors interested in the organisation.

Plans were underway to restructure the shares of the company, which are listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.

However, things did not go as planned as the potential investors pulled out, leaving the board to consider others ways to move the firm forward.

Confirming this development, the company secretary, Ms Irene Attoe, in a statement, said the board would explore other means to keep the company running to deliver value to shareholders.

“This is to notify the NGX and the investing public that a meeting of the board of SET held on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, as scheduled, to consider the status of the proposed share reconstruction and recapitalisation as approved by the members at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on April 16, 2025.

“After due deliberations, the board wishes to announce that the proposed share reconstruction will not take place as anticipated due to the inability of the parties to reach a convergence on the best and mutually viable terms.

“Thus, following an impasse in the negotiations, and the investors’ withdrawal from the transaction, the board has, in the interest of all members, decided to accept these outcomes and move ahead in the overall interest of the business.

“The board is committed to driving the strategic objectives of SEC and to seeking viable opportunities for sustainable growth of the company,” the disclosure stated.

Business Post reports that the share price of SET crashed by 3.85 per cent on Tuesday on Customs Street on Tuesday to 75 Kobo. Its 52-week high remains N1.33 and its one-year low is 45 Kobo. Today, investors transacted 39,331,958 units.

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Economy

Clea to Streamline Cross-Border Payments for African Importers

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Clea Payment platform

By Adedapo Adesanya

Clea, a blockchain-powered platform that allows African importers to pay international suppliers in USD while settling locally, has officially launched.

During its pilot phase, Clea processed more than $4 million in cross-border transactions, demonstrating strong early demand from businesses navigating the complexities of global trade.

Clea addresses persistent challenges that African importers have long struggled with, including limited FX access, unpredictable exchange rates, high bank charges, fraudulent intermediaries, and payment delays that slow or halt shipments. The continent also faces a trade-finance gap estimated at over $120 billion annually, limiting importers’ ability to access the FX and financial infrastructure needed for timely international payments by offering fast, transparent, and direct USD settlements, completed without intermediaries or banking bottlenecks.

Founded by Mr Sheriff Adedokun, Mr Iyiola Osuagwu, and Mr Sidney Egwuatu, Clea was created from the team’s own experiences dealing with unreliable international payments. The platform currently serves Nigerian importers trading with suppliers in the United States, China, and the UAE, with plans to expand into additional trade corridors.

The platform will allow local payments in Naira with instant access to Dollars as well as instant, same-day, or next-day settlement options and transparent, traceable transactions that reduce fraud risk.

Speaking on the launch, Mr Adedokun said, “Importers face unnecessary stress when payments are delayed or rejected. Clea eliminates that uncertainty by offering reliable, secure, and traceable payments completed in the importer’s own name, strengthening supplier confidence from day one.”

Mr Osuagwu, co-founder & CTO, added, “Our goal is to make global trade feel as seamless as a local transfer. By connecting local currencies to global transactions through blockchain technology, we are removing long-standing barriers that have limited African importers for years.”

According to a statement shared with Business Post, Clea is already working with shipping operators who refer merchants to the platform and is also engaging trade associations and logistics networks in key import hubs. The company remains fully bootstrapped but is open to strategic investors aligned with its mission to build a trusted global payment network for African businesses.

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