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PIPELINES & TRANSPORT approval to launch a $50mn fund for NOGAPS
Manufacturing Product Line. This fund would
Ghana’s BOST set to invest be dedicated to companies that would operate in
the Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks and engage in the
GHS200mn in fuel transport manufacturing of equipment components used
in the oil and gas industry and linkage sectors.
initiatives in 2022 Kesiye Wabote revealed this on Friday at the
The Executive Secretary of NCDMB Simbi

Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST), commissioning of the ultra-modern valves
Ghana’s state fuel import concern, plans to spend assembling facility established by Catobi Nige- Nexim Nigerian Export-Import Bank and the
about GHS200mn ($31.01mn) in 2022 on pro- ria Enterprises Ltd in Port Harcourt, Rivers state. agreements were signed in mid-2021.
jects designed to increase the efficiency of petro- The fund would support oil and gas compa- The Executive Secretary stressed that the
leum product transportation, both within Ghana nies that would operate in the oil and gas parks manufacturing sector is central to the overall ini-
and for export, the Daily Graphic has reported. developed by the Board in Bayelsa and Cross tiative of the Federal Government and NCDMB
Some of the funds will be allocated to the pro- River states. The parks are expected to be com- to develop the economy and create indigenous
curement process, which will cover the automa- missioned and operational in the fourth quarter capacity in the supply chain. He underscored the
tion and upgrade of the company’s six depots to of 2022 and would incubate the manufacturing linkage between access to manufacturing finance
meet modern standards. of equipment components utilised in the oil and with the viability of the Nigerian Oil & Gas Parks
These depots are located in Tema in Accra, gas industry and create an estimated 2000 jobs when operational.
Buipe in the Savanna, Kumasi in the Ashanti, in each park. The NCDMB boss disclosed that the Nigerian
Bolgatanga in the Upper East, Akosombo and In his words, “on Thursday, the Governing Content Equipment Certificate (NCEC) was one
Adome in the Eastern regions of Ghana. Council of the Board approved an additional of the important tools introduced by the Board
BOST chief executive Edwin Provencal $50m product in the Nigerian Content Interven- to encourage local manufacturing, assembly, fab-
detailed his company’s plans in an exclusive tion (NCI) Fund to support in-country manu- rication, threading, coating, repair/maintenance,
interview with the Daily Graphic on February 9, facturing of components within the industrial calibration, and testing of equipment.
saying that he expected the investments in trans- parks currently being developed by the Board in He reiterated that the NCEC has helped drive
portation to benefit the country as a whole. Bayelsa and Cross River States.” the establishment and development of facilities
“These projects are expected to generate The Executive Secretary stated that NCDMB and infrastructure for local manufacturing and
jobs for players in the private sector, as well as understands the challenge associated with man- related activities in collaboration with Original
protect Ghana’s highways against deteriora- ufacturing, especially the reluctance of banks to Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), investors
tion as a result of the movement of heavy-duty extend loans to manufacturers, because of the and technical partners.
trucks transporting fuel products from Accra to long repayment period for such facilities. He dis- He stated further that it has promoted the
Kumasi,” he said. closed that the NOGAPS Manufacturing fund development and growth of human capital,
He went on to say that BOST would kick-start will soon be launched and will be managed by especially local skilled manpower and industry/
the investment programme in the first quarter the Bank of Industry (BoI) to address the iden- technology experts.
of 2022 by launching the procurement pro- tified challenges. While applauding Catobi Nigeria Enterprises
cess. This will help “ensure that we get the right The new fund would be a stand-alone prod- Limited for contributing to the attainment of
companies to help us update and automate our uct line with distinct fund allocation and special the Board’s 10-year strategic roadmap, Wabote
deports,” Provencal said. eligibility criteria and collateral structure. The noted the upgrade of the facility will strengthen
He also mentioned that the company decision of the Board to establish the product the valve assembly operations in-country,
intended to begin supplying LPG to customers was informed by the peculiarities of the man- maintenance and instrumentation services. He
within the framework of a wider diversification ufacturing sector, which include infrastructure disclosed that the valve assembly plant now pos-
drive. “Wherever we have a depot, we will put an challenges, long gestation, long lead time before sesses the capacity to handle shut-off and control
LPG plant there to help in the transition from returns, low margins on products, and high risk valve testing, test pressure safety bunker opera-
fossil fuel to gas, in line with climate action plans attached to the endeavour, in addition to the tions, valve assembling, and disassembling.
and the President’s initiative on clean fuels,” he reluctance of commercial banks to lend to the “Catobi Nigeria Enterprise Ltd is a superb
said. sector and application of stiff collateral and eligi- example of what a Nigerian oil and gas service
bna/IntelliNews, February 14 2022 bility criteria where loans are extended. company can grow into over a period of time in
The Board established the NCI Fund in 2018 demonstration of the resilience of the Nigerian
with the purpose of financing Oil and Gas com- enterprise,” Wabote added.
INVESTMENT panies to increase capacity and grow Nigerian He called on the other service companies to
Content in the Industry Presently, the NCI Fund emulate the company to invest in manufacturing
NCDMB secures approval has five product lines which are being managed and promote development of services that the
will benefit the Nigerian economy.
by the Bank of Industry. They include – Man-
for launch of $50mn ufacturing Finance, $10m; Asset Acquisition Chairman, Catobi Nigeria Enterprise Ltd, Dr.
Finance, $10m; Contract Finance, $5m; Loan Okey Ukaegbu appreciated the support he had
fund for oil industry Refinance, $10m; and Community Contractor received from the industry through the imple-
Finance, NGN20mn.
mentation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry
manufacturing tal Fund for oil and gas service companies and a with the new valve assembling plant, the com-
The Board also has a $30mn Working Capi-
Content Development Act 2010. He mentioned
The Nigerian Content Development and $20m Fund for Women in Oil and Gas Interven- pany will be able to serve other sectors of the
Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has secured tion Fund. Both facilities are administered by the economy.

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 07 16•February•2022