The Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) has proposed the creation of a special funding of at least $15 million exclusively for its members to access for financing of their oil and gas service projects outside the country.
This is as Nigeria continues to push for export of its local content capabilities beyond its borders through the execution of projects outside the country's shores.
With PETAN members' contribution of their 1 per cent Nigerian Content Fund (NCF) hitting about $20 million yearly, Chairman of PETAN and Chief Executive Officer of Geoplex, Mr. Wole Ogunsanya, said it was necessary that the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) creates a dedicated funding scheme to be domiciled with the Bank of Industry (BoI) for use by the association.
Ogunsanya made the proposal while speaking on a panel at the just concluded 13th Practical Nigerian Content Forum (PNC) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
He said PETAN with over 100 member companies deserves such dedicated funding as the association is the largest contributor to the NCF fund being used by the NCDMB to drive local content in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
Ogunsanya promised that any amount lent to any member of the association to execute project outside the country would be paid back with an interest and without any difficulty recovering the money from the company.
He explained: "So the next step for us is to ensure that at least $15 million out of the $20 million we're contributing annually as the NCF fund is dedicated to our members. NCDMB is supposed to help us anyway. If you give us $15 million on a yearly basis, we'll ensure that that money comes back to you with interest. "The reason is that if I'm going to do a service somewhere outside Nigeria, I need to convince NCDMB that the equipment that they are funding on my behalf, on behalf of PETAN members, they take out to Uganda for instance, I can make sure that I can domicile that payment and make sure the bank and the NCDMB get their money back", he noted.
