By Adedapo Adesanya
The local content in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector has experienced a significant surge, recording a rise of about 54 per cent in 2022 compared to 26 per cent in 2017.
This was disclosed by Mr Simbi Wabote, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), on Monday during his presentation at the ongoing Nigerian Oil and Gas Energy Week in Abuja.
He disclosed this encouraging development, highlighting the remarkable progress in promoting indigenous industry participation.
During his presentation at the event with the theme Nigerian Content’s Role in Achieving Energy Security, Mr Wabote said that in the last five years, when NCDMB started implementing the Strategic Roadmap, it has more than doubled the level of Nigerian content in the oil and gas industry from 26 per cent in six years ago to 54 per cent in 2022.
Mr Wabote also promised to deliver on his mandate in reaching the target of developing the capacity of the local supply chain for effective and efficient service delivery to the oil and gas industry without compromising standards.
He also encouraged oil and gas industry players to familiarise themselves with the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (NOGIC Act) as well as the Nigerian Content Regulations.
He said: “Stakeholders need to read and understand the NOGIC ACT and the Nigerian content regulations guiding local content.”
In terms of manpower in the oil and gas industry, be said it reached 81 reached Nigerian content, while project management was 80 per cent.
Mr Wabote also said that the NCDMB had disbursed a total of $160 million out of the $200 million Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund) to qualified firms.
The NCDMB chief executive said the Board will continue to improve efforts to provide accessible credit for Nigerian oil and gas service companies and community contractors.
He said that the NCDMB is also working to promote relevant and reliable data and statistics and has established a collaborative framework with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).