Market News

By Bassey Willie, Yenagoa 

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoriong Board (NCDMB) has said that African countries would not derive optimal value from their hydrocarbon resources occasioned by the continent’s rich endowments of over 125 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves, contributing over 10 per cent of world’s crude oil supply, and over 620 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, without implementing local content policies.

The local content body also stated that if the continent can implement local content policies properly, it will create value from their industry’s operations and connecting other sectors of their economies. 

Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, while speaking during the 4th edition of African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) conference and exhibition on local content in Africa, holding in Brazzaville, Congo, advised  that for African nations to successfully transform their abundant hydrocarbon resources into shared prosperity for their citizens and economic development, they have to make local content policies’ implementation the cornerstone of their energy future.

The General Manager, Corporate Communications of NCDMB, Dr Obinna Ezeobi, in a statement on Thursday in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, said the event which was dedicated to advancing local content implementation and energy development in Africa was attended by industry stakeholders across the continent. 

He said Engr. Ogbe led Nigeria’s delegation as well as represented the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri at APPO’s statutory ministerial council meeting, where a new Secretary General of the continental body was elected.

Referencing the continent’s rich endowments of over 125 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves, contributing over 10 percent of world’s crude oil supply, and over 620 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, the NCDMB Executive Secretary posited that African countries would not derive optimal value from their hydrocarbon resources without implementing local content policies, thereby creating value from their industry’s operations and connecting other sectors of their economies. 

He said: “Nigeria’s experience and successes over the past 15 years provides a living example of what deliberate local content policy can achieve,  local content is not merely a regulatory framework, rather it is a development strategy which must be implemented with pragmatism. 

“Local content represents our resolve to build indigenous capacity, retain value within our borders, and create sustainable jobs for our young and dynamic population.”

Buoyed by the successes of local content implementation in the Nigerian oil and gas industry and linkage sectors, Ogbe restated NCDMB’s commitment to sharing its expertise, learning, frameworks, and digital tools with other African petroleum producing countries to strengthen local participation across the continent. 

He confirmed that NCDMB’s vision extends beyond Nigeria, and the agency has built institutional frameworks that can serve as models for other African nations. 

He said the templates include the local content policy design, implementation structures, monitoring templates, and digital compliance systems like the NOGIC Joint Qualification System (NOGIC JQS).

Speaking further, he canvassed the establishment of an African Energy Services Network to foster collaboration among member states of the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) for better value retention in the continent’s oil and gas projects.

Ogbe who is Nigeria’s representative to APPO’s Executive Board stated that the Network would add a fresh layer to the strategic vision that birthed such continental organisations as APPO, African Energy Bank, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), whose collective focus is the advancement of intra-country trade, local content and cross-border linkages to achieve energy security and rapid economic development in Africa. 

He expressed satisfaction with the establishment of the African Energy Bank, an initiative championed by APPO and Afreximbank for competitive financing in aid of oil and gas projects in Africa. 

He promised that “NCDMB stands ready to collaborate, providing technical expertise and project linkages to make the Bank’s objectives a reality,” while urging all stakeholders to demonstrate equal commitment to the Bank to facilitate real growth and sustenance.  

He informed the audience which comprised oil and gas policymakers and stakeholders from across the continent that Nigeria has built world-class infrastructure, such as the multibillion-dollar Egina FPSO Integration Yard at LADOL Free Trade Zone, Lagos, “a first-of-its-kind facility in Africa,” which successfully integrated a Floating Production Storage and Offloading Unit, with a storage capacity of 200,000 barrels of crude oil.