When in 2010, the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act was signed into law by then President Goodluck Jonathan, little was it known that that singular act would trigger a revolution in the oil and gas industry within the African continent.
Today, Nigeria has emerged as the leading light in Africa’s quest to rely on indigenous technology and manpower to drive the industry. With 56 percent local content already achieved and 70 percent targeted by 2030, Nigeria is making steady progress in its local content drive using the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) as a special purpose vehicle.
The board has been ruthless in enforcing the provisions of the NOGICD Act, wielding the big stick where necessary to ensure that all players are in tune with the letters of the Act. However, the board is not only striving for compliance with the enabling Act, but also acting as a Good Shepherd, painstakingly guiding some players who are still learning the ropes in the industry hitherto dominated by expatriates.
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To this end, the NCDMB fashioned out a number of activities aimed at exposing local players to ways of navigating some intricacies and opportunities inherent in the ever dynamic industry. Among such opportunities are the annual Practical Nigerian Content Forum and the Nigeria Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) held biennially.
While the Practical Nigerian Content Forum is a key event for stakeholders to discuss strategies and engage with government and industry players, NOGOF provides a platform for indigenous players to showcase their capabilities.
These activities coupled with other interventions by the board in strategic areas have positioned Nigeria as a destination of choice with a somewhat reservoir of knowledge while applying local expertise in navigating the intricacies in the oil and gas industry.
It was no doubt the quest to tap from this fountain of knowledge that made the Namibian authorities to invite egg heads from the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, (NCDMB) and Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) to the country’s just concluded first ever oil and gas conference to share the Nigerian experience and to help them lay the building blocks for their own local content framework in their oil industry.
At the conference, officials of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) were the cynosure of all eyes as they shared insights on Nigeria’s local content implementation and lessons for other African nations.
The Director, Corporate Services at the NCDMB, Dr. Abdulmalik Halilu made a presentation on the local content success stories in Nigeria and lessons learnt. Likewise,the General Manager Corporate Communications, Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, and PETAN Chairman and member of NCDMB Governing Council, Mr. Wole Ogunsanya participated in a panel session titled: “Local content development: How Namibians can benefit from the oil and gas industry.”
In his presentation, Halilu listed Nigeria’s local content implementation pillars to include regulatory framework, access to market, gap analysis, capacity building, incentives and funding, and rresearch and ddevelopment. He highlighted the key roles played by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) who have over 101 companies that provide technology in diverse areas of the industry, employing over 30,000 Nigerians and have cumulative employment impact over 100,000.
He indicated that the implementation of the Nigerian content 10-year strategic roadmap had grown Nigeria’s local content performance to 56 percent as at 2025. He identified some other initiatives of the NCDMB, such as capacity development, which is geared to build in-country value addition, funding and incentives as well as creating access to markets for service companies and manufacturing companies.
Speaking on the panel session, Dr. Ezeobi made salient recommendations that could guide Namibia and other African nations in their formulation and implementation of effective local content policies. Specifically, he advised the adoption of NCDMB’s Project 100 initiative, whereby strategic financial and non-financial support are provided to select local service companies, to upscale their capacities, including providing them access to market.
He also recommended government’s partnerships with competent private sector players to deliver strategic energy projects that meet needs of the nation’s economy. Another suggestion was the facilitation of collaborations between local companies and original equipment manufacturers, and government’s sponsorship of local service firms to international oil and gas conferences, to expose them to partnership opportunities and new technologies.
The general manager equally harped on the need for oil producing nations to introduce dedicated fund schemes which their local service companies and manufacturers can access at single digit interest rate, to grow their capacities and capabilities.
Responding to a question on challenges Nigeria faced at the onset of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, and how they overcame them, Dr. Ezeobi stated that Nigeria faced push-backs from some international companies as well as scepticism over government’s commitment to implement the law. Other problems bordered on doubts regarding the technical capacity of local service companies, as well as the misconception by some indigenous operating companies and midstream and downstream players that the NOGICD Act did not cover their operations.
He expressed delight that those challenges had been largely overcome, through extensive engagements and communication with industry stakeholders, and by Nigerian service companies up-scaling their capacities significantly and delivering top quality work on schedule consistently.
Dr. Ezeobi encouraged African oil producing nations to demonstrate strong political will when implementing local content policies and to communicate the policies effectively, ensuring that relevant stakeholders have good understanding of the policy, as well as their roles in the implementation and compliance processes.
In his contribution, PETAN Chairman, Mr. Wole Ogunsanya, advised the framers of the Namibian local content policy to decouple non-complex work packages from major projects. He tasked them to borrow a leaf from the NOGICD Act in producing a detailed list of activities carried out in oil and gas industry operations. This approach would allow upcoming local companies to compete for the smaller packages, win and deliver on them successfully, providing a pathway for such firms to grow capacity sustainably.
As part of NCDMB and PETAN collaboration at the conference, the two organisations set up a joint exhibition booth and received leaders of the government, and oil and gas stakeholders. Most of the visitors to the booth wanted to understand Nigeria’s local content law, while others sought guidance or collaboration for different technical services they hope to deploy in their fast developing oil and gas industry.
