…Says despite 125 billion barrels reserves, continent’s energy future lies on local content
The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, have said that African countries have a golden opportunity to turn their vast oil and gas resources into shared prosperity for their citizens and drive economic growth. And to make this happen, they need to get right the local content policies, not just on paper but ensure they are actually implemented.
He disclosed this while speaking at the 4th edition of African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) conference and exhibition on local content in Africa, holding in Brazzaville, Congo. The event is dedicated to advancing local content implementation and energy development in Africa, and is attended by industry stakeholder across the continent.
Ogbe who led the Nigerian delegation to the conference and exhibition, 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, stated that by prioritising local content, African nations can create jobs, boost local economies, and ensure their natural resources benefit their citizens, not just foreign companies.
Referencing the continent’s rich endowments of over 125 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves, which is contributing over 10 percent of world’s crude oil supply, and over 620 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, the ES noted 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 stated that Nigeria’s experience and successes over the past 15 years serves as example of what deliberate local content policy can achieve. The NCDMB boss buttressed that 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,” he said.
Buoyed by the successes of local content implementation in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry and linkage sectors, Ogbe restated NCDMB’s commitment to sharing its expertise, learnings, frameworks, and digital tools with other African oil producing countries to strengthen local participation across the continent.
He explained that NCDMB’s vision extends beyond Nigeria, and the agency has built institutional frameworks that can serve as models for other African nations. The templates, he said include the local content policy design, implementation structures, monitoring templates, and digital compliance systems like the NOGIC Joint Qualification System (NOGIC JQS).
Speaking further, Ogbe 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.
“It would be a framework where fabrication, manufacturing, and engineering hubs across the continent complement each other, creating a pan-African industrial ecosystem with existing capacities of Nigeria available to drive transformative processes,” he added.
Expressing his satisfaction with the establishment of the African Energy Bank, an initiative championed by APPO and Afreximbank for competitive financing aid of oil and gas projects in Africa, the NCDMB chief assured that the Board stands ready to collaborate, provides technical expertise and project linkages to make the Bank’s objectives a reality. He urged all stakeholders to demonstrate equal commitment to the Bank to facilitate real growth and sustenance.