Local content in petroleum sector now 56% – NCDMB

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, on Wednesday, announced that local content in the petroleum industry has now reached 56 per cent, with ongoing reviews likely to further enhance this figure.

The NCDMB Executive Secretary, Felix Ogbe said this at a press conference to announce the fifth edition of the 2025 Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair, scheduled to be held May 21 and 22 in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

Ogbe stated that the board is focused on attracting new local investments into Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, with expectations for more opportunities arising from the three Presidential directives on the industry.

These directives have played a pivotal role in unlocking fresh investments and driving growth in the sector.

He said, “We are glad to mention that with our efforts, the level of local content in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria has reached 56 per cent as of the last count we had. The review is ongoing right now to enable us to determine where we are in terms of the percentage of local content we have achieved up to date. So the last count is 56 per cent of local value created.”

Ogbe explained that at the 2023 NOGOF, over 100 investment opportunities were presented by companies, adding that some of the projects showcased at the event were the Ubeta and Bonga North, which have been executed.

He explained that “NOGOF provides opportunities for companies in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors to showcase their upcoming projects. The aim is to achieve our national aspirations of increasing gas and crude oil production, boosting revenue, and meeting domestic crude oil and gas supply obligations.

“This enables service companies, manufacturers, oil and gas trainers, and job seekers to invest in facilities and capabilities that will domicile most of the activities in the country”.

Speaking at the event, the Chairman of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria, PETAN, Mr Wole Ogunsanya, praised the role NCDMB has played in growing the oil and gas value chain in the country.

Ogunsanya noted that local content in the sector is set to grow even more with the recent acquisition of oil and gas assets by Nigerian companies from International Oil Companies and IOCs.

“What it means is that in the ExxonMobil deal, the 40 per cent of the oil that used to go to ExxonMobil and they take it outside Nigeria, will now reside in Nigeria. For the SPDC deal, 45 per cent of its profit will now be with Renaissance, which is an Indigenous company. That is what local content is all about”, he stressed.

The biennial event used to meet the key objectives of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act 2010 is themed “Driving Investment and Production Growth: Shaping a Sustainable Oil and Gas Industry through Indigenous Capacity Development.”