LOCAL CONTENT: SENATE PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR PIPE MANUFACTURERS IN OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY
nassnewsng.com
The Senate has pledged to fight for local pipes manufacturers in procurement contracts in the oil and gas industry following complaints of non patronage by government agencies and oil majors contrary to Local Content Act of 2010.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Content Senator Solomon Adeola (APC, Lagos West) made the pledge after a presentation to the committee by an Abuja based steel pipe manufacturing and coating firm, SCC Nigeria Limited stressing however that the firm has to provide documentation to show that in the last two years they had been denied contracts that they were qualified to partake in preference to foreign companies.
“From your presentation, I see that you have capability and indeed growing local capacity in your operations with high standard of production and quality assurance. But I observed that you are into production of H-SAW pipes while the industry in addition uses L-SAW and Seamless pipes. We need to confirm that the contracts you alleged were given to foreign firms were in the category of the type of coated pipes that you produce” Senator Adeola stated.
The senator said it does not speak well of the nation that we have a manufacturing of the magnitude of SCC Nigeria Limited being idle for two years while various contracts were been given to foreign firms with deleterious effects on our foreign exchange balances.
Earlier in his presentation of the company to the Committee, Mr. Elias Steve, a naturalized Nigeria and Chief Engineer of the company said they are engaged in pipe manufacturing for water projects and for oil and gas industry with records of execution of projects with NNPC, Mobil and other oil majors.
He said their mill is the most modern in sub -sahara Africa with production for all sizes of steel pipes up to three meters as well as a steel coating plant adding that they will provide all the documentations and contracted bided for that were given to foreign firms at the next sitting of the committee
