Local Content: NCDMB commends INTELS’ world-class facility at Onne  

Simbi Wabote, the executive secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), has commended INTELS Nigeria Limited for developing the Onne Free Zone into a ‘world class facility’ that fully complies with the provisions of the Local Content Act.
Commending companies that invested and are operating at the facility, after touring the Onne Free Zone in Rivers State at the weekend, Wabote described the level of investment in the zone as significant to economic development, even as he said the facility could measure with ports in Lagos.
“We came here not just to visit INTELS but to also visit most of the companies operating within the facility. We have seen companies like FMC Technologies, Pipe Coaters, General Electric (GE), One Subsea, AOS Orwell, Vallourec and West Atlantic Shipyard. It is a very impressive facility and you have a lot of clients here,” he said.
Stating that 95 percent of companies in the free zones are in oil and gas industry, the NCDMB boss attributed this to the fact that Onne is an Oil and Gas Free Trade Zone, which explains why most oil and gas companies want to be in Onne.
Mike Epelle, general manager Legal of INTELS, who led the team of top management team to receive the NCDMB boss, said INTELS remains fully committed to maximising the use of Nigerians, materials, equipment and services in its operations without compromising the company’s values, quality, health, safety and environmental standards.
“We are also committed to ensuring that Nigerian businesses and local contractors participate in our operations in compliance with the Nigerian Oil & Gas Industry Content Development Act of 2010,” Epelle said.
“INTELS implements the job owners as approved in Nigerian Content Plan without compromising best value for projects in terms of price, quality, efficiency, delivery and operating parameters,” he added.
Also speaking, Chibuisi Onyebueke, head of Administration and General Services of INTELS said the Onne Free Zone is a Federal Government facility developed and positioned to play a major role in the development of the West African oil and gas industry, with a unique package of incentives and strategic advantages.
He said the Oil and Gas Free Zones Act provides a wide range of incentives and other strategic benefits to investors operating within the zone, similar to those offered by other successful Free Zones in the world.
He listed the incentives to include free port incentives, Customs incentives, immigration incentives, tax incentives and other benefits contained in Section 18 of the Oil and Gas Free Zone Act.
According to Onyebueke, INTELS operates in government-owned port facilities and Free Zones to provide comprehensive and integrated logistics services to the oil and gas industry
INTELS is a leader in the Nigerian oil and gas logistics support industry and a core logistics service provider with skills, efficiency, integrity and quality of service. It has 30 years of experience in ports management and terminal logistic support services in Nigeria, applying the one-stop-shop solution under its oil service centre concept.