The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has called on African oil-producing countries to move beyond ownership of natural resources and build the industrial capacity required to convert their petroleum wealth into sustainable economic value.

The call was made at the Africa Local Content Programme of the ongoing Africa Oil Week (AOW) 2026 in Accra, Ghana, where the NCDMB joined the African Union (AU) and Ghana’s Petroleum Commission in a high-level programme focused on building African capacity, competitiveness and collaboration across the upstream oil and gas value chain.

The programme, themed “Building African Capacity, Competitiveness and Collaboration Across the Upstream Value Chain,” brought together industry leaders, policymakers, regulators, investors and service providers to examine strategies for deepening local participation and investment across Africa’s petroleum industry.

The Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, delivered the opening remarks on the theme, “From Resource Ownership to Industrial Power.” He was represented by the Board’s Director, Corporate Services, Dr. Abdulmalik Halilu.

Ogbe said African countries must broaden their focus from merely owning petroleum resources to developing sustainable industrial capacity, creating greater value from those resources and positioning African companies to compete in international markets.

He stressed that local content frameworks should be designed to facilitate the development and deployment of African capabilities across national borders, arguing that cross-border capacity utilisation would accelerate the industrialisation of the continent.

According to him, the local content value proposition extends beyond the participation of indigenous companies in oil and gas contracts to encompass research and technology development, local employment, strategic partnerships, ownership and control of assets, supply-chain optimisation, sustainable operations, increased production and utilisation of locally manufactured goods and greater contributions to GDP.

The discussions also underscored the potential of local content to become an investment attraction tool rather than an impediment to foreign capital.

Participants at the session on “Market Entry Insights: Unlocking Africa’s Most Compelling Upstream Opportunities,” moderated by NCDMB General Manager, Corporate Communications Division, Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, agreed that stronger local content frameworks could attract investment while reducing operating costs across the continent.

They, however, stressed that African oil-producing countries must provide stable and predictable regulatory environments as part of measures to attract long-term investment capital into their upstream sectors.

NCDMB’s Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Mr. Ajimijaye Omomehin, also participated in discussions on “Harmonising and Standardising Technology and Policy: Driving Change through the Brazzaville Accord,” which examined the role of policy and technology alignment in accelerating regional energy development.

The Board’s experience in financing indigenous capacity development also featured prominently during the programme.

Mr. Erefagha Turner, Assistant Manager, Planning, Research and Statistics, speaking at a session on “Unlocking Capital for African Content Growth,” highlighted the importance of creating sustainable financing channels for indigenous oil and gas businesses.

He cited Nigeria’s Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund) as a successful financing model that has helped indigenous service companies expand their capabilities and participate more effectively in the petroleum industry.

The financing discussion reflected a broader concern that access to capital remains one of the major constraints to the growth of African energy companies, particularly indigenous businesses seeking to move from small-scale service providers to globally competitive operators.

Human capital development was another major theme at the conference, with Engr. Dokubo Obongo, Manager, Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building, NCDMB, participating in the session on “Investing in Talent: Building Africa’s Energy Workforce.”

He emphasised that sustained investment in skills development and human capital was essential to building an African energy workforce capable of competing globally.

Omomehin also contributed to discussions on “Building Regional Oil & Gas Industrial Hubs,” reinforcing the case for greater regional integration of African petroleum capabilities, infrastructure, technology and markets.

The various sessions converged around a common challenge facing the continent: how to transform Africa’s abundant petroleum and natural resources into broader industrial and economic opportunities rather than continue exporting raw resources with limited domestic value addition.

The discussions identified access to capital, regulatory stability, policy harmonisation, technology development, human capital investment and regional collaboration as critical enablers of that transformation.

For the NCDMB, the Africa Oil Week engagement provides an opportunity to project Nigeria’s local content experience as a potential model for other African petroleum-producing countries while promoting greater cross-border utilisation of African expertise and industrial capacity.

The Board’s participation also reinforces its broader push for local content to serve not merely as a mechanism for reserving contracts for indigenous companies, but as a platform for developing technology, financing businesses, creating skilled employment, strengthening supply chains and ultimately building an integrated African energy industry capable of competing in the global market.