One hundred and thirty-two Nigerian companies have accessed a total of N51.785 billion and $359.653 million from local content intervention funds designed to boost indigenous participation in the oil and gas sector, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has stated.
The funds, which aim to strengthen the capacity of Nigerian firms, comprise the $350 million Nigerian Content Intervention Fund, the $50 million working capital fund supported by the Nigerian Export-Import Bank, and the women in oil and gas fund.
Fresh data released by the board showed that three manufacturing companies received N7.561 billion, while 38 firms accessed N22.144 billion and $205.666 million for asset acquisition.
Ten companies secured N2.232 billion and $24.728 million to finance contracts, and 25 firms benefited from N15.98 billion and $115.998 million for loan refinancing.
Speaking at a media stakeholders’ workshop in Abuja, the NCDMB Director of Corporate Services, Abdulmalik Halilu, said the interventions had significantly boosted local participation in the sector, which rose from 44 percent three years ago to 61 percent in 2025.
“The NLNG Train-7 project alone engaged about 8,000 Nigerians, highlighting the tangible impact of local content policies,” he said.
Halilu stressed that local content was not about promoting inferior goods but about domestication anchored on global best practices.
“Local content is about domestication based on global best practices, not mere indigenisation,” he said.
According to him, the board operates under two major mandates provided by the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act: capacity building and enforcement.
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“You cannot enforce local content without capacity. The Act contains 17 broad schedules and about 300 specific performance indicators,” he said.
Halilu added that local content remained a major driver of industrialisation, job creation, research and development, ownership of critical assets, environmental responsibility, and sustainable indigenous participation in the oil and gas sector.
He traced the origin of the local content policy to 2001 during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, when a study revealed that the industry focused largely on revenue generation at the expense of in-country value creation.
This, he explained, led to the establishment of a Nigerian Content Division within the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, a move later strengthened by the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Act in 2010 under former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Halilu described NLNG Train-7 as a model project, noting that alongside 500 expatriates, about 8,000 Nigerians were employed and 1,400 vendors engaged.
He said the project achieved milestones such as local fabrication of pressure vessels, pumps, cables, and safety boots, with capacities now being deployed in other sectors, including power and construction.
“The initiative ensures Nigerians are not just participants but owners of critical assets, capable of profitable and sustainable operations,” he said.
He also said the board’s legacy investments, including the FPSO integration yard in Ladol, Lagos, had encouraged large-scale indigenous investment and reduced dependence on foreign infrastructure.
Looking beyond Nigeria, Halilu said the NCDMB was promoting local content development across Africa, noting that Nigeria alone might not provide a sufficiently large market to attract some high-end investments.
“Africa combined has about 125 billion barrels of crude oil and over 800 trillion cubic feet of gas. That is why we are working through the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation,” he said.
He disclosed that initiatives such as the Africa Energy Bank and the Brazzaville Accord on local content were outcomes of Nigeria’s leadership in the sector.
Also speaking, the NCDMB General Manager, Corporate Communications, Obinna Ezeobi, said the board would continue to support journalists through capacity-building programmes to enhance industry reporting.
“Today, we continue the tradition of equipping Nigerians, this time journalists, with the capability to engage meaningfully with industry players,” he said.
