A delegation from the Democratic Republic of Congo has commenced a study tour of Nigeria’s local content system, seeking to draw lessons from the country’s efforts to expand indigenous participation in the oil and gas sector.
The delegation, headed by the DRC Minister of Hydrocarbons, Simplice Stev Onanga, arrived in Nigeria to examine the policies, institutions and strategies behind the growth of local participation in the petroleum industry.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Tuesday by the General Manager, Corporate Communications Division, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Dr Obinna Ezeobi.
Receiving the delegation in Abuja on Monday, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, said Nigeria was prepared to share its experience with other oil-producing countries across Africa.
Lokpobiri said Nigeria’s local content capacity had risen to 61 per cent since the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act was enacted 16 years ago.
According to him, the progress was driven by deliberate government policies, regulatory institutions and the growing involvement of indigenous firms in oil and gas operations.
He also identified the divestment of onshore assets by international oil companies as an opportunity for Nigerian companies to acquire and operate petroleum assets. He cited Renaissance Africa Energy Company, Seplat Energy and Oando Energy Resources among the firms that had benefited from the development.
“The solution to Africa’s energy challenges lies within Africa,” Lokpobiri said.
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The minister disclosed that Nigeria was producing more than 1.8 million barrels of crude oil daily, adding that indigenous operators had expanded their control of land and shallow-water assets.
He further explained that the Nigerian Content Development Fund was sustained by a one per cent levy imposed on awarded upstream oil and gas contracts, describing it as an industry-funded mechanism for building local capacity.
The Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Felix Omatsola Ogbe, represented by the Director of Corporate Services, Dr Abdulmalik Halilu, also assured the DRC delegation of the board’s readiness to assist in developing a sustainable local content framework.
Halilu said Nigeria’s model was supported by institutional structures, regulatory cooperation and strategic planning.
He added that the NCDMB’s 10-year strategic roadmap was designed to achieve 70 per cent in-country value retention and create more than 300,000 direct jobs by 2027.
Onanga said the purpose of the DRC delegation’s visit was to study Nigeria’s experience and determine which aspects could be adapted to strengthen his country’s petroleum industry.
“We are proud to be in Nigeria to witness what has been accomplished,” the DRC minister said.
The study tour is scheduled to run until Friday, with the delegation expected to visit the NCDMB headquarters in Bayelsa State, fabrication facilities at the Onne Free Zone, an Nigeria LNG supplier session and the University of Port Harcourt Gas Centre.
The programme will also take the delegation to the LADOL/Nigerdock yards and other major oil and gas facilities as it examines Nigeria’s approach to increasing indigenous participation in the industry.