The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has commended Brentex Petroleum Services Limited for the significant progress recorded on its $50 million Steel Pipe Induction Bending and Coating Facility.

The agency described the facility which is located at the Federal Ocean Terminal (FOT), Onne Port, Rivers State, as a landmark investment that will deepen local manufacturing capacity and strengthen Nigeria’s position as a regional hub for oil and gas engineering services.

Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, during an inspection tour of the facility, stated the commitment of the board to supporting indigenous investments capable of expanding Nigerian Content, creating jobs, and reducing dependence on imported oil and gas equipment and services.

The Brentex facility, which has already attracted over $26 million in investment, is being developed to provide integrated steel pipe induction bending, heat treatment, testing, and coating services for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. Upon completion, it is expected to become Africa’s first fully integrated 2-inch to 48-inch steel pipe induction bending and coating plant.

Ogbe, who was represented by the Director of the Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate (MED), Mr. Esueme Dan Kikile, Esq., congratulated the company on the milestone achieved and praised its resilience and commitment to developing indigenous engineering capacity.

He described the facility as a practical demonstration of the objectives of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, noting that it represents a significant step towards retaining more value within the Nigerian economy.

“The emergence of the Brentex Steel Pipe Induction Bending and Coating Facility represents a direct and tangible response to the quest for in-country capacity in specialised pipeline engineering services,” he said.

“It advances our collective goal of retaining value, creating jobs, and strengthening Nigeria’s position as a leading energy services hub in Africa.”

Reflecting on the Board’s longstanding relationship with the company, the NCDMB representative recalled that the Board had supported Brentex for more than a decade under its Equipment Component Manufacturing Initiative.

“We’ve been on this journey with Brentex for over a decade. Today, we’ve seen what you are doing on ground. That’s actually the whole idea about the equipment component manufacturing initiative of the NCDMB—in-country value addition—and you have been steadfast,” he stated.

He urged the company’s management to sustain the momentum on the project while maintaining high standards of quality, safety, and operational excellence, expressing confidence that the facility would become a flagship Nigerian Content asset and a reference point for specialised pipeline engineering services across Africa.

Ogbe also assured the company that the Board would encourage industry operators to patronise the facility once operational.

“I’d like to express the Board’s deep appreciation for your investment in our country, and to assure you that you have our support,” he said.

“Whatever we can also do to get the industry to patronise this investment, we’ll do that, because it’s very important that the industry takes advantage of what we have in-country.”

In his remarks, the Managing Director of Brentex Petroleum Services Limited, Mr. Chidi Nzerem, thanked the NCDMB delegation for the visit, describing it as a strong vote of confidence in the project and its contribution to Nigeria’s industrial development.

He acknowledged the Board’s support over the past 10 years, noting that its interventions had been instrumental in advancing the project, which was conceived to support the implementation of the NOGICD Act.

Nzerem expressed optimism that the facility would become fully operational in the fourth quarter of 2027 and appealed for the Board’s continued partnership as the project progresses towards completion.

Responding to questions on the facility’s contribution to human capital development, he disclosed that Brentex intends to collaborate with the NCDMB after certification to develop industry-focused training programmes aligned with the Board’s capacity-building mandate.

According to him, the facility is expected to employ about 200 engineers and other technical personnel, providing opportunities for technical training, skills transfer, and capacity development, with the long-term objective of ensuring that the plant is fully operated by Nigerian professionals.

Speaking on the strategic importance of the investment, the Project Manager of Brentex, Engr. Patrick Anaje, described the project as the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa and said it would revolutionise pipeline engineering services by providing Nigeria’s first fully integrated in-country solution for steel pipe induction bending and coating.

He disclosed that Brentex is currently participating in the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Natural Gas Pipeline project, where the facility’s capabilities will provide critical support.

Anaje noted that about 95 per cent of steel pipes used in the industry are currently imported, making the new facility a strategic asset that will enable operators to source specialised pipe induction bending, coating, and repair services locally.

According to him, local availability of these services will significantly reduce reliance on foreign suppliers, minimise overseas repairs, shorten project delivery timelines, lower procurement costs and delays, improve operational efficiency, and retain greater economic value within Nigeria.

The inspection tour was attended by senior management officials of the NCDMB, executives of Brentex Petroleum Services Limited, industry stakeholders, project consultants, contractors, representatives of the Onne and Ogu host communities, members of the Community Liaison Committee, and the media, who witnessed firsthand the progress recorded on the strategic Nigerian Content project.