BY KENNETH EZE
The efforts of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board on Research and Development in the oil and gas sector of the country has received the backing of Dangote Oil Refinery.
The company in a statement cited this as the rationale for its sponsorship of the 2nd Edition of Edition of the NCDMB Research & Development Fair and Conference 2021, which took place in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State recently.
Dangote Refinery said the conference, held under the theme ‘Creating Sustainable Collaboration in Research and Development for the Energy Sector,’ enabled a convergence of researchers, industry players, investors, finance enterprises and manufacturing companies to identify patentable or commercially viable products resulting from R&D activities.
The R&D fair also afforded the company the opportunity to showcase its 650,000 barrels-per-day single largest train refinery project and what it had done in terms of Research and Development during the construction of the refinery.
Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Engr. Simbi Wabote, commended the company for showing support to the board by participating in the fair.
He expressed the need for companies in the Nigerian oil and gas sector to start nurturing the growth of the country’s home-grown technology rather just being wholesome consumers of other people’s innovations.
He said, “Analysis of global practices of Research and Development revealed that the combined R&D spend of just five countries makes up 63.5 per cent of the entire global R&D spend. The five countries, namely USA, China, Japan, Germany, and India were also observed to have accounted for over 50 per cent of the global Gross Domestic Products.
“Africa, on the other hand, accounted for less than 1 per cent of the global R&D spend while its GDP is only 3 per cent of the global GDP. You will agree with me that there is a nexus between the spend on Research and Development and economic prosperity.”
Wabote observed that from time immemorial R&D always played a crucial role in opening up new chapters of modern life.
Management of the DOR disclosed that it had picked six graduates from the six geopolitical zones in conjunction with NCDMB for postgraduate studies of MSc and/or PhD programmes at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria for Research & Development in Zeolites ZM5in.
The Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, represented by his deputy, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, said the theme for the fair captures stakeholders’ collective commitment to aggressively drive innovation and position the oil industry on the path of an integrated energy sector, where field development and production solutions are sourced through local capabilities.
He emphasised the need for private sector operators to invest in research and development. “It is important, however, to clear up a certain misconception. The funding of research is not the sole responsibility of National Governments; rather, big spenders on research and development globally come from the private sector,” he added.
Beyond financial intervention, he urged the oil and gas industry players to challenge the local academia with its research problems, to ensure the development of homegrown technology and the retention of oil and gas spend in the economy.
