The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) said the oil and gas industry would adopt and leverage associated opportunities should artificial intelligence (AI) disrupt the sector.

Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Simbi Wabote, speaking in Abuja, stated that instead of fighting changes that may come with AI in the oil and gas sector, industry players, especially in Nigeria, should prepare ahead and take advantage of technological disruption.

“AI is an opportunity. As AI is coming, people are learning the opportunities it will offer. When I visited Total in France, they showed me a picture of what the future of FPSO will look like. Today, you have about 150 people managing FPSO but they showed me a future of FPSO where there will be nobody onboard and it will be operated from anywhere. That is the future but also an opportunity. There will be an industry that will build the technology that is associated with the FPSO. I am not afraid of AI,” Wabote said.

He disclosed that the board was already planning for future opportunities as AI emerges, adding that the country and practitioners must be ready for the changes that would come with the development.

Wabote noted that the fourth edition of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) 2023 would explore such emerging opportunities in the oil and gas industry, linkage sectors as well as the entire African continent.

Wabote said previous editions of NOGOF have made a tremendous impact on the Nigerian oil and gas industry, pointing to the ongoing Nigeria LNG Train 7 project as one of the visible benefits. He explained that 50 percent of the entire $5bn project scope is currently being executed in-country through Nigerian vendors and that was achieved because key officials of the Nigeria LNG showcased the opportunities inherent in the project at the 2019 edition of NOGOF, thus enabling indigenous companies to prepare themselves adequately.

He hinted that the local content accomplishment on the Train 7 project is a major departure from the insignificant levels that were recorded while constructing Train 1-6. He affirmed that Nigeria could target 70 percent of the entire project scope when the next train of the LNG would be executed.

On the expansion of 2023 NOGOF to linkage sectors and countries, the Executive Secretary explained that the oil and gas industry has the potential to catalyze industrialization and promote economic growth across sectors, not just in Nigeria, but across the continent. “We hope to stimulate investment, foster technology transfer, and enhance local content development across the African oil and gas value chain,” he added.

He emphasized the need to explore the opportunities that lie in other African countries, especially after we had built huge capacities in-country and they are not being matched by local opportunities and projects.

He said: “In that case, you need to expand your market outside. We tell our sister African countries that there is no need to go to America, Europe and Asia for oil and gas capacities that exist in the continent, an example is the FPSO integration facility in Lagos. They should come to Nigeria and other sister African countries, so we can share the benefits, reduce our costs and grow together, especially with the spirit of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA).

The Executive Secretary further stated that the ideas for hosting NOGOF 2023 are “aligned with the key objectives of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act 2010 (NOGICD) Act, which mandates the NCDMB to support the development of local capacities and capabilities in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, foster institutional collaboration, maximize participation of Nigerians in oil and gas activities, link the oil and gas sector to other sectors of the economy, maximize utilization of Nigerian resources, among other objectives.”

Wabote added that the event will provide an opportunity for investors, operators, government officials, and major players across various sectors to engage in quality discussions, hinting that the Board has secured some sponsors and exhibitors, but there are still opportunities for sponsorship as exhibitors and interested stakeholders can visit the dedicated NOGOF 2023 website at www.ncdmbnogof.org for information on how to get involved in any capacity.

Managing Director, Jake Riley, NOGOF project consultant, Mrs. Funmi Ogbue, noted that “with the incorporation of the linkage industry and the reach beyond Nigeria to other African countries, the stakes are even higher to ensure collaboration and success.”

She lauded the NCDMB for the democratisation of access to participation, the development of the industry and the shared prosperity that comes with the initiatives.