Currently, NLNG Ship Management Limited (NSML), a subsidiary of the NLNG, has achieved 83 percent of its Nigerianisation target, according to NLNG.
Local content is a regulatory act known as the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, which was introduced in 2010. The policy was designed to build the capacity of indigenous firms and to provide more opportunities for indigenous participation in business and value addition.
Speaking to newsmen in Lagos on Friday, Eyono Fatayi-Williams, general manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development of NLNG, said that as at December 2019 that the company has in its employment list, 661 competent and professional employees.
She said the number spreads across 297 officers, 329 ratings and 35 share-based personnel.
According to her, NLNG has two subsidiaries, Bonny Gas Transport Limited (BGT) and NSML, adding that NLNG has a total of 23 vessels in its fleet, 13 of which are owned by BGT, its subsidiary.
“NSML is the biggest employer of Nigerian seafarers on board its 13 NLNG directly-owned carrier ships. We have trained hundreds of seagoing officers, some to the level of captains and chief engineers,” Fatayi-Williams disclosed.
Continuing, she stated: “NSML, which initially was set up as a manning outfit in 2010, metamorphosed into an international maritime service company that is providing world-class services in vessel management, crew management, administration, terminal management and maritime training including projects and consultancy.”
Given insight, she stated that NLNG and its shareholders agreed on a Nigerianisation scheme in 1997, and the agreement was revisited and updated in 2004.
“The objective of the scheme which was to Nigeranise the company’s workforce was achieved in 2012. It started by recruiting Higher National Diploma graduates and training them as technicians and operators. This was a deliberate policy to enable the relatively young minds imbibe the skills, work culture, discipline and professionalism that the business requires,” he stated.
NLNG, she said, also instituted a staff training and development drive for different cadres of technical staff to help them acquire the requisite skills and competence for management, supervisory and to hold operational positions in the company. “The company continues to recruit young engineers and other technical staff, as part of this initiative.
On the economic impact of NLNG’s operations on Nigeria, she pointed out that NLNG provided more than 2,000 jobs each construction year. “Overall, the major sub-contractors employed about 18,000 Nigerians in technical jobs in the Base Project.
“Through each Nigerian Content plan for its contracts, NLNG has promoted the development and employment of Nigerian manpower. For instance, 600 Nigerians were trained in Nigeria and at the contractors’ (Hyundai and Samsung) shipyards in Korea as part of the Nigerian Content deliverables tied to the construction of six new LNG vessels by BGT, a wholly owned subsidiary of NLNG,” she stated.
At the end, those 600 Nigerians, with enhanced skills in welding, hull assembly, pipe fitting, electrical, mechanical, painting and ship design joined the nation’s workforce, providing a support base for technology transfer and industrialisation.
AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE
