The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of MG Vowgas Limited, Mr Godwin Izomor has urged the Federal Government to insist that complex fabrication jobs should be domiciled in-country in line with the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act of 2010.
According to him, Nigerian fabrication yards now have the capacity to fabricate the modules of Floating Production Storage Offshore Vessels (FPSOs) and other complex offshore structures.
Izomor, in a chat with Journalist after a facility tour of his Mount Zion Fabrication Yard in Woji, Port Harcourt in River State, argued that the international oil companies (IOCs) should stop taking jobs abroad under the excuse that Nigeria does not have the capacity.
He lamented that these companies import barges and tug boats from Europe and America under the flimsy excuse that Nigeria does not have the capacity.
According to him, executing oil and gas industry jobs locally would help to create massive employment opportunities in the country, adding that Korean giants that have operated in Nigeria for over 20 years have not built fabrication yards in Nigeria so as to continue to create job opportunities for their people working in the yards in their home country.
Izomor said that his company in particular has the capacity to fabricate pressure vessels, modules, offshore structures, FPSO structures and topsides. He also, added that his yard was built to reduce the amount of money being taken abroad.
We built this place to reduce the amount of our money being taken abroad. Can you imagine that Korean companies have been in this country for the past 20 years but none of them has a yard in Nigeria that can even fabricate a container? The reason is that they know that if they build a yard here, their people will not be employed. So, it is our foolishness that kept Nigeria where we are today. Now, we have to believe in ourselves to start doing things in this country, he said.
While giving the details on the equipments in his yard, he noted that other fabrication yards in Nigeria still import flanges from abroad.
For instance, he mentioned that his company’s furnace has the capacity of 1,600 degrees centigrade and is about 200 tonnes furnace. He also added that they have davvy rolling machine that can roll up to 200 mm thickness plate as well as plasma cutting machine that can cut up to 200-millimetre thickness of plates.
Izomor, however identified insecurity, poor electricity supply and lack of funding as some of the threats to local companies.
He stated that he spends about N500 million yearly on security in his Port Harcourt yard and operation site in Bayelsa, while urging the government to provide conducive environment for businesses to thrive.
