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INVESTMENT
NCDMB, NAICOM launch

insurance services use
guidelines for oil sector

The Nigerian Content Development and Mon-
itoring Board (NCDMB) and the National
Insurance Commission (NAICOM) have signed
insurance services guideline that will oblige the
oil and gas industry to patronise the local insur-
ance sector, thereby retaining spending in the
economy. The guidelines will also address loop- at the 2022 Nigerian Oil and Gas Conference Diplomatic Relations between The Gambia and
holes that have been identified while implement- scheduled for July 2022. Equatorial Guinea; the Agreement on Reciprocal
ing the provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas In his comments, the Commissioner for Exemption of Visas for Holders of Diplomatic
Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, Insurance, NAICOM, Sunday Thomas charged and Service Passports; an MoU on Diplomatic
particularly sections 49 and 50, which deal with all stakeholders engaged in any form of busi- Consultations between the Foreign Ministries
insurance of oil and gas activities. ness, operations or contract in the Nigerian oil and; a Cooperation Framework Agreement
The Executive Secretary of NCDMB Simbi and gas industry to ensure compliance with the between The Gambia and Equatorial Guinea.
Kesiye Wabote and the Commissioner for relevant laws and compliance with the insurance Crucially, the latter established a Joint Com-
Insurance Sunday Thomas signed the guide- Guidelines. mission for Economic, Commerce, Scientific
lines recently on behalf of their organisations in Thomas expressed optimism that the part- and Technical Cooperation, cementing intent
Yenagoa. nership between the Board and NAICOM will not only for freer trade exchanges but also
In his remarks, the Executive Secretary stated realise the benefits of increased local content, for best practice sharing, joint technological
that the provisions of sections 49 and 50 of the in-country value retention, job creation and advancement and two-way regional investment,
NOGICD Act require all operators engaged in employment generation and GDP growth as affirmed by the State House of The Gambia.
any form of activity or project in the Oil and Gas amongst other. With the MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power Con-
industry to insure all insurable risks related to While appreciating the efforts of the Board, ference 2022 just around the corner, regional
its oil and gas business with an insurance com- the NAICOM boss pledged his agency’s com- relations and technological innovations are very
pany, through an insurance broker registered in mitment to create an enabling environment that much in the spotlight with President Sall recently
Nigeria. will consistently enhance increased capacity of forging Senegalese ties with both Angola and
He stressed further that the Act provides that the Insurance Institutions both financially and the $4.6bn Senegal-Mauritania transnational
where an operator seeks to place an insurable risk technically. Greater Tortue/Ahmeyim (GTA) development
offshore, a written approval of NAICOM must NCDMB, June 13 2022 set to come online next year, targeting 15 trillion
first be sought and obtained and that NAICOM cubic feet (425bn cubic metres) of gas.
before the issuance of the approval must ascer- The Gambia’s own exploration and produc-
tain that local capacity has been fully exhausted. POLICY tion has been modest to date, but the recent
Wabote reiterated that the Insurance guide- licensing of six offshore blocks and a further
line will strengthen the Board’s local content The Gambia and Equatorial anticipated licensing round flags the country’s
drive and ensure that a greater portion of the industry as a promising one.
spend in the Insurance industry as it relates Guinea forge trade ties Furthermore, with Australia’s FAR announc-
to oil and gas activities in Nigeria is retained ing the discovery of a possible 1.5bn barrels
in-country. amidst gas boom worth of oil reserves in its A2 and A5 blocks
In his words, “the insurance guideline being across The Gambia’s Panthera, Jatto and Malo
launched today was developed by the two regu- In a ceremony last month at the Presidential Pal- prospects this year, advancement is anticipated
latory bodies to ensure that government’s inten- ace in Malabo, the esteemed presidents of both from The Gambia’s early-stage hydrocarbons
tion of promoting insurance services within the The Gambia and Equatorial Guinea, Adama industry.
country is achieved so as to capture significant Barrow and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, It is from this industry that Equatorial Guin-
financial spend under oil and gas insurance ser- inked four bilateral agreements to advance trade ea’s experience, technical expertise and strategic
vices in country.” and diplomatic ties between the two nations. insights will serve as key to the two countries’
The NCDMB chieftain said the collabora- This milestone in regional relations fol- newly signed ties. Equatorial Guinea boasts
tion between Board and NAICOM will further lows Equatorial Guinea’s hosting of two Afri- 1.1bn barrels worth of proven oil reserves with
ensure the successful implementation of the can Union (AU) Extraordinary Summits on production spanning decades, as one of Africa’s
Insurance Guidelines and every other activity May 25-28, establishing unified narratives and earliest movers in deep water reserves similar to
that will lead to the attainment of the objectives aligned policies on matters regarding security, those exhibited across the MSGBC basin.
of the NOGICD Act 2010 as well as 70% Nige- internal migration and humanitarian crises for The country’s current oil production stands
rian Content by 2027 under the Board’s 10-Year the continent, as overseen by Senegalese Presi- at 244,000 barrels per day (bpd), 77% of which
Strategic Roadmap. dent and current AU Chairperson, Macky Sall. is exported, but it too is marking a new era of
He added that finer details of the guidelines The four bilateral agreements signed include expansion having offered up 27 offshore blocks
will be released at the Nigerian Content Seminar the Joint Communique on the Establishment of in a 2019 licensing round.

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