Sopuruchi Onwuka

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has emerged as a central force in building Nigeria’s energy industry capacity while expanding Africa’s oil and gas supply chain connectivity, industry leaders heard at the Nigerian International Energy Summit.

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Speaking under the summit theme, “Local Content Beyond Compliance: Building African Industrial Powerhouses,” stakeholders highlighted how NCDMB’s policies and interventions have shifted Nigeria from basic local participation to deeper industrial capability, with growing spillover effects across the continent.

At the core of this transition are three pillars shaping Africa’s industrial future: competence, capacity utilization, and collaboration. NCDMB’s strategy has focused on strengthening indigenous competence through standards-driven local supply chains, maximizing the use of domestic assets, and aligning Nigeria’s local content framework with regional and continental initiatives.

Over the years, NCDMB has developed regulations, systems, and processes that enabled indigenous technologies, boosted domestic manufacturing, and fostered research and innovation. These measures have helped create a resilient supply chain capable of competing both locally and internationally.

One notable example is Nigeria’s cable manufacturing sector. Indigenous manufacturers supplied an estimated two million meters of cables to the NLNG Train 7 project and now possess the capacity to serve markets across Cameroon, Angola, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Algeria. Similarly, fabrication and assembly yards such as Aveon, Beamco, and Tranos have developed capabilities in pressure vessels, pumps, valves, cable trays, and oilfield production platforms.

Indigenous ownership of marine assets has also expanded. Companies such as Temile Nigeria, owners of LNG carriers, and Tamrose, with its growing fleet of vessels, reflect increasing Nigerian participation in marine logistics and offshore support services.

Beyond Nigeria’s borders, several indigenous service companies including Radial Circle, Weafri, Harybeat, and Fairtex have expanded operations into Angola, Ghana, Uganda, and Equatorial Guinea, reinforcing Nigeria’s role as a hub for African energy services.

Human capital development remains another major focus. Through the Oil and Gas Trainers Association and the Oil and Gas Field Readiness Training Programme, over 10,000 youths have been trained in high-demand skills such as geosciences, subsea engineering, quality assurance and control, marine operations, automation, underwater welding, drilling engineering, and digitalization. These skills are directly aligned with Africa’s evolving oil and gas labor market needs.

Policy support has further accelerated these gains. The Executive Order on Local Content issued by President Bola Tinubu’s administration in 2024/2025, alongside the “Nigeria First” policy, was designed to boost local capacity, attract investment in gas and deepwater projects, and shorten project delivery timelines.

In line with these objectives, NCDMB recently completed a comprehensive revision of its guidelines to reduce contracting timelines, eliminate non-value-adding intermediaries, mitigate the transferability of Nigerian Content Equipment Certificates, and maximize in-country value retention.

On the continental front, Nigeria has played an active role in advancing regional collaboration. The country was instrumental in the design and endorsement of the Brazzaville Accord, which establishes a single Pan-African local content template. The framework is expected to unlock scale across a 1.4-billion-person market and enable stronger cross-border partnerships among African oil and gas service providers.

Access to financing, long identified as a major constraint to local content growth, is also improving. The African Energy Bank has now become a reality, with its office handed over to the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO). The bank is expected to provide more affordable project financing, helping African companies compete more effectively on a global scale.

Industry stakeholders at the summit agreed that local content beyond compliance is no longer just an energy-sector objective. It is increasingly seen as a development and economic sovereignty agenda, central to Africa’s industrialization.

With sustained focus on competence, capacity utilization, and collaboration, NCDMB’s approach is positioning Nigeria not only as a leading energy producer, but as a manufacturing, services, and talent hub driving Africa’s integrated energy supply chain.