Fidelity Bank introduces special fund for indigenous oil, gas firms

Fidelity Bank Plc has introduced a special funding package to support the participation of indigenous companies in the oil and gas sector of the Nigerian economy, known as “Fidelity Local Content Finance Fund”.

The bold attempt is to arm Nigerian entrepreneurs in the technology-driven, capital-intensive oil and gas industry for increased competitiveness.

Fidelity’s Local Content Finance comes at a time when the clamour for increased in the local content in the oil and gas sector is at its loudest and seeks to provide financial support to local oil service providers to enable them fulfill their contractual obligations in the industry.

The Nigerian Content Act insists on exclusive consideration for Nigerian indigenous service companies, which have demonstrated ownership of equipment, Nigerian personnel and capacity to execute work on land and swamp operating areas in the oil industry.

According to Mr. John Obi, general manager, Corporate Banking, the fund was introduced to boost indigenous participation in offshore and onshore operations in the oil and gas industry.

He pointed out that Fidelity’s efforts would complement the Nigerian Content Development Act, which aimed to stimulate the development of indigenous capabilities and increased the contribution of the oil and gas sector to the national GDP.

Explaining, he said: “Our product will also support the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in realising its objective of increasing the participation of indigenous companies in the oil and gas industry and the continuous growth of the Nigerian content in all oil and gas projects, operations and transactions.”

According to him, the Fidelity Local Content Finance Fund was designed to ensure ease of access with convenient and friendly processing timelines.

The product covers diverse upstream and downstream activities including engineering, procurement, installation and construction services, drilling operations and support services, marine operations and logistics services as well as general oil and gas support services.

Guardian