Monday, September 8, 2025
24.1 C
Lagos

Actions Taken by NCDMB Towards Addressing Sterling Oil’s Non-Compliance Issues

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has noted the comments made by the President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Mr. Festus Osifo, during the union’s recent protest at the headquarters of Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company (SEEPCO), at Victoria Island, Lagos, over alleged anti-labour practices and expatriate abuses by the company.

NCDMB commends the PENGASSAN leader for acknowledging that qualified Nigerian personnel are occupying top leadership and technical positions in most international and indigenous operating oil and gas companies, and are performing creditably in those roles.

He noted rightly that Nigerians are executing complex functions in the floating production and storage and offloading (FPSO) platforms like Bonga, Agbami, USAN, AKPO, Egina, etc. Indeed, Nigerian oil and gas workers performed almost all operations in the oil and gas industry during the COVID-19 pandemic and kept the industry afloat, after most expatriates returned to their home countries.

These feats were accomplished through NCDMB’s strategic implementation and enforcement of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act 2010, particularly the Expatriate Quota, Succession Plan and Deployment of Expatriates Guidelines and Expatriate Work Temporary Work Permit Guidelines. The successes were also enabled by the several Nigerian Content capacity building interventions that prepared and placed qualified Nigerians in key positions in the oil and gas industry. Through enforcement and compliance oversight, the Board ensured that 609 technical positions were nigerianised for the period 2020-2024

We are delighted that PENGASSAN served as a whistle blower over the alleged expatriate quota abuse by the management of Sterling Oil, and we assure the union and the general public that we would investigate the matter exhaustively and take necessary actions.

We can confirm that NCDMB had sanctioned SEEPCO a few years ago for gross violations of the NOGICD Act. Recently, we have been engaging the company for the same reasons. Our regulatory engagements with the firm are outlined below:

In 2017, the NCDMB identified five expatriates deployed by SEEPCO without obtaining the relevant NCDMB approvals. As a result, NCDMB penalised the company for this non-compliant deployment of expatriates. To remediate this, SEEPCO trained five Nigerians in Marine Engineering and Subsurface Drilling Engineering for nine months.

In 2018, NCDMB identified 402 expatriates deployed by SEEPCO without approval. Additionally, NCDMB discovered projects, contracts, and purchase orders from multiple projects that were awarded and executed without appropriate approvals. NCDMB penalised SEEPCO for these infractions and directed SEEPCO and its affiliates to take the following actions:

  • Disengage the 402 expatriates and provide evidence of their disengagement and exit to the Board.
  • Commence and comply with the NCDMB Expatriate Quota application process.
  • Comply with the Board’s requirements for tendering and awarding projects, contracts, and purchase orders.
  • Complete the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF) reconciliation exercise and pay outstanding remittances.
  • Submit up-to-date statutory reports on Nigerian Content and comply with the review process.
  • Train and employ 40 Nigerians as part of the remediation/penalty.

 

Regrettably, SEEPCO ignored those directives until the Board commenced legal proceedings against the firm, in line with section 68 of the NOGICD Act.

In 2020, SEEPCO sought an out-of-court settlement and committed to addressing the compliance issues and undertaking the remediation. SEEPCO completed the training of 40 Nigerians in 2022, but the employment commitment was not achieved. Additionally, SEEPCO made only partial NCDF remittances.

SEEPCO has refused to respond and comply with other Nigerian Content requirements.

In 2023, SEEPCO obtained Expatriate Quota approval from the Board for three positions.

From our records SEEPCO has been granted only seven expatiate positions between 2017 to 2023.

The Board has requested for statutory submissions from SEEPCo and scheduled performance review session for March 2025.

 

Conclusion

NCDMB Expatriate Quota approvals and compliance and enforcement is applicable to only companies with investments or executing projects in the oil and gas industry. Non-oil and gas Expatriate Quota utilization does not come to the Board, but rather directly to the Ministry of Interior.

NCDMB is committed to the effective implementation and enforcement of the NOGICD Act in the oil and gas sector, with a view to creating employment opportunities for Nigerians, deepening Nigerian Content and boosting the economy.

The Board will not fail to sanction firms that flagrantly flout provisions of the NOGICD Act. The Board welcomes collaboration of stakeholders, including oil unions towards achieving the intendments of the NOGICD Act.

 

spot_img
spot_img

Hot this week

Nigeria, Brazil Central Banks Deepen Economic, Financial Co-operation

Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, has held talks...

Ecobank Nigeria to Host Second Edition of Design & Build, Showcasing Premier Innovators in Design, Construction

Ecobank Nigeria, a subsidiary of the leading pan-African banking...

Expert: Fintech, Financial Inclusion Critical for Sustainable Growth of Nigerian Economy

A renowned economist, Dr. Biodun Adedipe, the Chief Consultant/CEO,...

Sterling Bank Marks One Year of Africa’s Groundbreaking Core Banking System

Number one Best Workplace in Banking in Nigeria and...

Topics

Facebook CEO Visits Nigeria to Witness Africa’s Tech Revolution

Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg visited Nigeria this week on...

Building a Legacy – A Lot on My Table

By Nonso Okpala “You have less than 100 years to...

Leadway Group Graduates Young Developers to Boost Nigeria’s Tech Talent Pool

Leadway Group, Nigeria’s leading non-banking financial services group, has...

Guinea Insurance Reports Written Premium of N1.35bn in 2021

L-R: Ademola Abidogun, MD/CEO; Godson Ugochukwu, Chairman Board of...

Nigerian Delegates at 2025 AIO Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

From Left: Managing Director/CEO, Cornerstone Insurance Plc, Stephen Alangbo;  Chairman,...

Apple Takes a News Bite: Blue Ocean Strategy in Action or Red Ocean in Motion?

By Dr. Phil Osagie Global Lead Strategist Jsp Communications Apple launches news...

Samsung Launches QLED TV 2018 Edition into Nigerian Market

Samsung Electronics West Africa has launched its newest and...
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img