A high-level delegation from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), led by Minister of Hydrocarbons, Simplice Stev Onanga, is set to visit LADOL and Nigerdock as part of its ongoing study of Nigeria’s local content framework in the oil and gas industry.
City Business News reports that the visit to the two major industrial and maritime facilities will provide the DRC delegation with an opportunity to examine Nigeria’s experience in developing indigenous capacity, local fabrication, industrial infrastructure and oil and gas service capabilities.
The delegation is in Nigeria to understudy the country’s local content development model, following Nigeria’s progress in building domestic participation in the oil and gas sector since the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.
Receiving the delegation in Abuja on Monday, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, said Nigeria had achieved 61 per cent local content capacity over the past 16 years.
Lokpobiri said Nigeria’s experience demonstrated the importance of creating opportunities for indigenous companies to participate more actively in the oil and gas value chain.
He noted that the divestment of onshore oil and gas assets by international oil companies had created opportunities for indigenous operators, including Renaissance Africa Energy Company, SEPLAT Energy Producing Unlimited and Oando Energy Resources Nigeria Limited, to acquire and develop the assets.
“The solution to Africa’s energy challenges lies within Africa,” Lokpobiri said, adding that Nigeria currently produces more than 1.8 million barrels of crude oil per day.
According to him, while deep offshore operations remain largely dominated by foreign companies, Nigerian operating and service companies have increasingly taken control of land and shallow-water assets, helping to deepen local participation in the industry.
The Minister explained that the country’s local content initiatives are funded through the one per cent Nigerian Content Development Fund levy imposed on awarded upstream oil and gas contracts.
He assured the DRC delegation that Nigeria would openly share its experience and lessons from the implementation of its local content policy, while conveying the greetings of President Bola Tinubu.
Representing the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, Director of Corporate Services, Dr. Abdulmalik Halilu, said the Board was ready to support the DRC in developing a robust local content framework.
Halilu highlighted Nigeria’s institutional structures, regulatory coordination and 10-year strategic roadmap, which targets 70 per cent in-country value retention and the creation of more than 300,000 direct jobs by 2027.
Speaking on behalf of the DRC delegation, Minister Onanga commended Nigeria’s progress in local content development.
“We are proud to be in Nigeria to witness what has been accomplished,” he said.
The DRC delegation’s visit to LADOL and Nigerdock is part of a wider technical programme that will also take the officials to the NCDMB headquarters in Bayelsa State, fabrication workshops in the Onne Free Zone, an NLNG suppliers’ session and the UniPort Gas Centre.
The programme is expected to expose the delegation to Nigeria’s experience in developing industrial infrastructure, fabrication capacity and local participation in the oil and gas value chain.
