ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board has said several African nations are drawing lessons from its local content framework as they work to establish similar systems.
The board made this known while receiving a delegation from the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation on a benchmarking and knowledge-sharing visit designed to enhance Ghana’s understanding of Nigeria’s local content development model.
The delegation, headed by GNPC’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr Eric Pwadura, was welcomed at the NCDMB headquarters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
According to a statement issued by the General Manager of NCDMB’s Corporate Communications Division, Dr Obinna Ezeobi, Nigeria and Ghana have maintained a long history of collaboration in the energy sector, with the board continuing to promote knowledge exchange among African countries.
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While receiving the delegation, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Felix Ogbe, said Africa’s vast hydrocarbon resources make it imperative for producing nations to strengthen local content development and lessen dependence on foreign technology.
He said, “Africa has evolved over the last three to four decades, growing its hydrocarbon resources to over 120 billion barrels of crude oil reserves and 800 trillion standard cubic feet of gas, which constitute over 10 per cent of hydrocarbon resources globally.”
Ogbe noted that oil-producing countries must prioritise the development of domestic expertise for exploration and production activities, stressing the importance of reducing reliance on external capabilities.
Represented by the Director of Corporate Services, Dr Abdulmalik Halilu, the NCDMB boss also described Africa’s youthful population as a major asset for industrial growth when equipped with the necessary skills.
He stated that the board had transformed from policy guidelines administered by the former Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Local Content Division into an independent institution.
“We have evolved from a policy to an institution,” he enthused, adding, “NCDMB is the sole agency responsible for local content” in Nigeria.
Ogbe explained that the Nigerian Content 10-Year Strategic Roadmap is anchored on five key pillars: technical capability development, compliance and enforcement, creating an enabling business environment, organisational capability, and sectoral and regional market expansion, supported by funding and regulatory frameworks.
Speaking on capacity building, he highlighted the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund, managed through the Bank of Industry and the Nigerian Export-Import Bank, which offers single-digit interest loans to indigenous service providers.
“What we have done is to create that access to make the local service companies competitive,” he explained, noting that the programme had enabled local firms to acquire strategic assets, including marine vessels.
He added that the board ensures the utilisation of local capacity through its First Consideration policy, which prioritises Nigerian companies with proven competence.
He added, “Local content does not compromise standards…it does not mean you have African spec or European spec,” adding, “It’s one global spec.”
In his remarks, Pwadura thanked the board for the opportunity to learn from Nigeria’s experience, observing that Ghana’s local content framework remains at an earlier stage of development.
“Even though we have the legislation guiding local content, we have not had the benefit of having a robust local content environment like you have. If we take our organisation (Ghana National Petroleum Corporation), for example, what we have is a local content unit. That’s currently the structure that we have. We want to have a deeper understanding of your local content development programme,” he said.
Earlier, Ezeobi noted that NCDMB has sustained partnerships with a number of African institutions through memoranda of understanding signed with Ghana’s Petroleum Commission, Senegal’s ST-CNSCL, and agencies in Mozambique, Angola and Namibia.