By Eseoghene Emuke
The Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, says the Federal Government plans to increase the country’s local content policy from its present 30 per cent to 70 per cent by 2027 to create jobs for unemployed youths in Nigeria.
He stated that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government will continue to patronise indigenous oil and gas company to boost the local content act and provide jobs for the teeming youths across the country.
Sylva stated this when he led top officials of the petroleum ministry on a facility tour to the nation’s leading indigenous engineering and construction company, Lee Engineering and Construction Company Limited at Ekpan in Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State.
The minister and his team, who were conducted round the facilities by the Executive chairman of Lee Engineering and Construction Company Limited, Dr. Leeman Ikpea, hailed the construction firm for its contribution to the nation’s oil and gas sector.
While applauding the firm for full compliance with the implementation of the Local Content Act in its activities, he described Lee Engineering and Construction Company Limited as a trailblazer in the oil and gas sector in the country.
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Chief Sylva expressed satisfaction with the state-of-the-art facilities at Lee Engineering, assured the management that the Federal Government would support indigenous oil and gas firm especially Lee Engineering and Construction Company Limited.
He explained that the government has grown its Local Content Policy from three percent in 2010 to thirty percent and hope to grow it to seventy percent in 2027.
One of the facilities inspected by the minister was the ultra-modern manufacturing and fabrication workshop that is still under construction.
Earlier, Dr. Ikpea informed the Minister that the ultra-modern manufacturing and fabrication workshop with state-of-the-art equipment when operational will manufacture heat exchangers, pressure vessels, process skids, tanks, valves and fittings as well as other very important oil and gas tools.
He added that the facility which will be completed in seven months will be commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari and appealed for government patronage.
