NCDMB’s Operations Go Electronic from Next Month

From September 1, all the activities between the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and its clients – oil and gas operating companies and service companies, among others, will only be conducted electronically.
 
The Board’s Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Mr. Patrick Obah, confirmed that from September 1, the Board will cease to conduct businesses through hard copy. This is to align operations of the firm with global industry best practices, increase transparency and also drastically reduce turnaround time of transactions.
 
The Board presented its upgraded Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Joint Qualification System (NOGIC JQS) portal, entitled: Optimising the JQS functionalities for ease of doing business with the Board, to industry stakeholders. With the new NOGIC JQS electronic platform built on Oracle Database architecture, activities and operations of the Board with all stakeholders will become paperless.
 
Obah said: “From September 1, the Board will be issuing a public notice to effect the cessation of the use of hardcopy for application for the Board’s processes. The Board brought the stakeholders to acquaint them with some of the new processes we are embarking on.
 
“Going forward, only companies registered on the JQS would have access to the one-stop-shop services of the Board through their portal accounts. I graciously urge all stakeholders to register on the platform as this is the new normal for the Board.
 
“Registration on the portal is free and is open to individuals, service companies, operators, industry players and other stakeholders in the bid to fulfill the mandate of deepening the participation of Nigerians in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
 
“The NOGIC JQS is an electronic platform established by Section 55 & 56 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act 2010 as an Industry databank of available capacities and capabilities. The JQS as enshrined in the Act is to function as: the sole system for Nigerian Content registration and pre-qualification of contractors in the industry.
 
“It is also a verification platform for contractors’ capacities and capabilities, a veritable tool for evaluation of application of Nigerian Content in the operations of oil companies and contractors, a qualifying database for national skills development; and  mechanism for ranking and categorisation of service companies based on capacities and Nigerian Content.”
 
Obah said prior to this time, based on the feedbacks and comments from industry players and stakeholders, the Board realised that it did not have a full scale functional system that could deliver on the core functions of the NOGIC-JQS as enunciated above. Much of the complaints bordered on security of information domiciled on the system. Our response was to rebuild the system on a database that is compliant with industry best practice, more functional in terms of compliance with the provisions of the Act, and making the entire platform more user-friendly.
 
Currently, the NOGIC-JQS portal hosts 99,920 individuals, 6,826 service companies, and 41 operating companies. Companies that are yet to register are graciously urged to do so, as the Board is set to commence online processing of documents.
 
The JQS will ensure reliable registration database, expatriate quota management, tender management, proper monitoring and evaluation of Nigerian Content performance, among others.
 
He said there will be special sessions to be conducted by the Board’s super-users and the developers with industry relevant stakeholders such as Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigerian Content Consultative Forum (NCCF) and Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN), among others.