African countries study Nigeria’s local content model – NCDMB

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board has said African countries are studying its local content model to set up theirs.

The board stated this recently while hosting a delegation from the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation on a benchmarking and knowledge-sharing visit aimed at deepening Ghana’s understanding of Nigeria’s local content development framework.

The delegation, led by the Director of Corporate Affairs at GNPC, Mr Eric Pwadura, was received at the NCDMB headquarters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

In a release, the General Manager, Corporate Communications Division of NCDMB, Dr Obinna Ezeobi, said Nigeria and Ghana had enjoyed long-standing cooperation in the energy sector and that the board had continued to support peer learning across Africa.

Welcoming the team, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Felix Ogbe, said Africa’s hydrocarbon endowment places a responsibility on producing countries to prioritise local content development and reduce 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 added that it was in the national interest of producing countries to build internal capacity for exploration and production, stressing the need for a shift away from over-reliance on external expertise.

Represented by the Director, Corporate Services of NCDMB, Dr Abdulmalik Halilu, Ogbe said Africa’s youth population remained a key advantage for industrial development if properly equipped with relevant skills.

He maintained that the board had evolved from policy directives under the defunct Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Local Content Division into a full-fledged institution.

“We have evolved from a policy to an institution,” he enthused, adding, “NCDMB is the sole agency responsible for local content” in Nigeria.

He disclosed that the board’s Nigerian Content 10-Year Strategic Roadmap was structured around five strategic pillars, including technical capability development, compliance and enforcement, enabling business environment, organisational capability, and sectoral and regional markets, alongside key enablers such as funding and regulatory support.

On capacity development, Ogbe highlighted the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund, which is administered through the Bank of Industry and the Nigerian Export-Import Bank, to provide single-digit loans to indigenous service companies.

“What we have done is to create that access to make the local service companies competitive,” he explained, noting that the initiative had enabled indigenous firms to acquire critical assets such as marine vessels.

He further noted that the board promotes utilisation of built capacity through a First Consideration policy for Nigerian companies with proven capability.

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.”

Ghana’s Pwadura, in his remarks, expressed appreciation for the opportunity to learn from Nigeria’s experience, noting that Ghana’s current structure remains less developed.

“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 in his opening remarks, Ezeobi noted that NCDMB had maintained strong partnerships with several African institutions, including memoranda of understanding with Ghana’s Petroleum Commission and Senegal’s ST-CNSCL, as well as agencies in Mozambique, Angola and Namibia.