Economy
NCDMB Issues NCEC Guidance Notes to Ease Oil Contracts, Cut Production Costs
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) says it has issued the Nigerian Content Equipment Certificate (NCEC) guidance notes to speed up oil and gas industry contracting processes, weed out firms lacking technical capacity to perform, and to reduce Nigeria’s cost of oil production.
The document forms part of concerted efforts to operationalize the Presidential Directives (PDs) on Local Content Requirements, which mandates NCDMB to take further steps to eliminate intermediaries in the contracting process, lacking demonstrable capacity.
Emphasising that one of the key requirements for participating in the Nigerian oil and gas industry contracting process is the possession of NCECs issued by the NCDMB, the document states that “Unmerited possession and/or misapplication of the NCECs during tendering/bid evaluations contribute to contracting delays and admittance of unqualified intermediaries into the contracting process”.
According to NCDMB, the goal of the new document is to “tackle cases of single and multiple NCEC applications not matched to capacities on ground, submission of fake/forged documents, under declaration of personnel, non-existent offices/equipment, and many other dubious applications.”
It will also enhance timely review and approval of applications from genuine service companies as the document provides all the requirements needed to complete credible application at first attempt.
The eight NCEC categories cover Manufacturing & Related Services (MS); Fabrication & Construction (FC); Construction & Moveable Equipment (EC); Services & Support (SS); Quality Control Inspection and Testing (QS); Non-Moveable Assets (DA); Procurement & Supplies (PS); and Consultancy Services (CS).
The document advised service companies to provide details of their specific service offering with sufficient supporting evidence while applying for any of the NCEC categories via the application portal. Providing further explanation, NCDMB stressed that it does not solicit or require any payment for the application, processing, or approval of NCEC or any of its certifications.
It added that “in line with the Presidential directive on Local Content compliance, NCDMB prohibits the use of agents/middlemen/third parties in raising/submission of NCEC application on behalf of service companies. Service Companies registered on the NOGIC-JQS are liable for any claims/documentations submitted in support of application for NCEC or any other NCDMB certifications using their assigned login in details.”
The document also indicated that companies and their subsidiaries or local partners cannot apply for or obtain NCEC as separate companies using the same facilities, equipment, assets, or documentation and NCEC is not transferable for use by another company.”
Continuing, the guidance notes enjoined service companies to only apply for NCECs based on their core service area, noting that spurious applications contribute to delays in the processing of genuine applications, warning that cases determined to constitute abuse of NCEC applications shall attract applicable sanctions.
The NCEC notes also indicated that companies applying for multiple NCECs must have the capacities in terms of assets, facilities, equipment and personnel to execute the scope of activities under the target NCEC categories, adding that NCDMB will carry out facility visits to ascertain the capacities and capabilities claimed by the company in all the multiple NCEC applications.
It stated further that NCECs are not granted in anticipation of establishment of local capacities but are approved based on functional equipment/assets with dedicated resources/utilities in place to operate or perform the services, hence applicants must be ready to demonstrate operability and availability of owned assets/equipment as may be required during facility visit by NCDMB team.
The document also listed services which do not require NCECs. They include GSM service providers, commercial airlines, educational institutes, legal advisory services, public relations and events management, government agencies, and CSR projects with community vendors.
Speaking on the guidance notes, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr Felix Ogbe enjoined oil and gas stakeholders to study the guidance notes while applying for NCECs, warning that submission of forged, altered, or falsified documents constitutes a criminal offence and will attract legal consequences as well as board’s administrative punishments.
He noted that NCDMB had set target timelines for the review and processing of NCEC applications, with the portal providing timestamp of all activities/interactions undertaken from the point of submission of application and all reviews by the board.
By Adedapo Adesanya
A 0.91 per cent growth was recorded by the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Friday, May 22, after the share prices of four securities ended in green.
According to data, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc went up by N15.61 to N179.67 per share from N164.06 per share, Newrest Asl Plc grew by N6.11 to N67.26 per unit from N61.15 per unit, Food Concepts Plc appreciated by 17 Kobo to N2.75 per share from N2.58 per share, and Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc added 6 Kobo to sell at N25.50 per unit compared with the previous day’s N25.44 per unit.
At the close of business, the market capitalisation chalked up N23.22 billion to settle at N2.561 trillion versus Thursday’s N2.538 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 38.81 points to 4,281.28 points from 4,242.47 points.
During the session, the price of Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc was down by N3.13 to N71.07 per share from N74.20 per share.
The activity chart showed that the volume of securities transacted by the market participants decreased yesterday by 81.6 per cent to 590,339 units from the 3.2 million units recorded on Thursday, as the number of deals shrank by 28.6 per cent to 30 deals from the 42 deals recorded a day earlier, while the value of securities increased by 0.5 per cent to N95.3 million from the preceding session’s N94.8 million.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc closed the day as the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with a turnover of 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 61.2 million units traded for N4.1 billion.
The most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was GNI Plc, with the sale of 3.4 billion units for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange witnessed a decline in transactions on Friday despite closing higher by 0.22 per cent on the back of sustained bargain-hunting.
During the last trading session of the week, investors transacted 711.9 million equities valued at N29.1 billion in 62,386 deals compared with the 1.1 billion equities worth N31.0 billion traded in 62,448 deals in the previous day, indicating a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 35.28 per cent, 6.13 per cent, and 0.10 per cent, respectively.
Fidelity Bank closed the day as the most active stock with the sale of 198.1 million units for N4.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 69.7 million units worth N1.8 billion, Mutual Benefits exchanged 42.7 million units valued at N197.4 million, Japaul transacted 33.9 million units worth N134.4 million, and Zenith Bank sold 24.4 million units valued at N3.2 billion.
Yesterday, the industrial goods index rose by 0.53 per cent, the consumer goods sector jumped 0.28 per cent, the banking industry improved by 0.25 per cent, and the energy counter soared by 0.18 per cent, while the insurance space shed 0.18 per cent.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 536.98 points to finish at 249,712.37 points compared with the previous day’s 249,175.39 points, and the market capitalisation grew by N344 billion to N160.077 trillion from N159.733 trillion.
Aluminium Extrusion and DAAR Communications expanded by 10.00 per cent each to sell for N9.90 and N2.09, respectively, RT Briscoe surged by 9.93 per cent to N14.06, Learn Africa increased by 9.79 per cent to N12.90, and Red Star Express advanced by 9.56 per cent to N34.95.
On the flip side, Trans-Nationwide Express depreciated by 9.92 per cent to N5.72, Livestock Feeds dipped by 9.64 per cent to N8.90, The Initiates crashed by 8.65 per cent to N33.80, Ellah Lakes drowned by 8.64 per cent to N10.05, and Neimeth lost 6.36 per cent to trade at N10.30.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira weakened against the United States Dollar by N3.15 or 0.23 per cent to N1,375.46/$1 from N1,372.31/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, May 22.
It was also a similar situation for the domestic currency against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday, as it lost N9.46 to sell for N1,849.72/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,840.26/£1, and against the Euro, it depreciated by N6.26 to close at N1,597.04/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s exchange rate of N1,590.78/€1.
At the GTBank FX desk, the Nigerian Naira tumbled against the Dollar during the session by N2 to trade at N1,381/$1 versus the previous day’s N1,379/$1, and at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,390/$1.
Analysts at Cowry Asset Management Limited, in their weekly financial outlook, have projected the Naira will remain under soft pressure in near term due to continuous FX demand.
“Looking ahead, the Naira may remain under mild pressure in the near term due to persistent FX demand, though rising external reserves could help cushion volatility,” they noted.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this week reiterated that it would continue with its current policy direction to sustain the fight against inflation and stabilise the exchange rate.
This comes as the FX market has changed significantly under the ongoing reforms introduced by the apex bank, with increased market liquidity reducing the need for heavy intervention by the CBN. Its intervention currently accounts for only about 1.2 to 1.3 per cent of total market turnover in 2025, a development he said reflects the growing strength of the market.
Turnover has risen sharply from about $100 million in 2023 to roughly $550 million presently, with transactions occasionally climbing to as high as $1 billion in a single day.
A look at the cryptocurrency market showed that it was down on Friday as Mr Kevin Warsh was sworn in by President Donald Trump as the chairman of the US Federal Reserve, replacing Mr Jerome Powell, who will continue as a governor in the US central bank.
The appointment was made in the hope that he would lead the central bank to cut interest rates, but the Iran war has sent oil prices soaring and re-ignited what had been cooling inflation.
Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 5.5 per cent to $2,010.90, Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 5.2 per cent to trade at $0.1001, Cardano (ADA) fell by 5.0 per cent to $0.2389, Solana (SOL) slipped by 4.9 per cent to $82.69, and Bitcoin (BTC) slid by 3.3 per cent to $74,950.02.
Further, Ripple (XRP) went down by 2.9 per cent to $1.32, Binance Coin (BNB) declined by 2.6 per cent to $641.61, and TRON (TRX) shrank by 1.2 per cent to $0.3606, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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