DR Congo Begins Study Tour of Nigeria’s Oil, Gas Local Content Model

A high-level delegation from the Democratic Republic of Congo has commenced a study tour of Nigeria’s oil and gas local content framework, seeking lessons to strengthen indigenous participation in its petroleum industry.

The delegation, led by the DRC Minister of Hydrocarbons, Simplice Stev Onanga, arrived in Nigeria to understudy the policies, institutions and strategies that have helped deepen local participation and retain greater value within the country’s oil and gas sector.

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, received the delegation in Abuja on Monday and reaffirmed Nigeria’s willingness to share its experience with other African oil-producing countries.

Lokpobiri said Nigeria had achieved 61 per cent local content capacity since the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act 16 years ago.

He attributed the progress to deliberate government policies, regulatory institutions and the growing participation of indigenous companies across the petroleum value chain.

The minister also highlighted opportunities created by the divestment of some onshore and shallow-water assets by international oil companies, which have enabled Nigerian firms, including Renaissance Africa Energy Company, Seplat Energy and Oando Energy Resources, to expand their operations.

According to him, indigenous operators now have greater control of land and shallow-water assets, although foreign companies remain dominant in deep offshore operations.

Lokpobiri said the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board was funded through a one per cent levy on awarded upstream oil and gas contracts, providing resources for developing local capacity and supporting indigenous businesses.

He said Nigeria currently produces more than 1.8 million barrels of crude oil per day and stressed the importance of African countries developing their own capacity to address the continent’s energy challenges.

Representing NCDMB Executive Secretary Felix Omatsola Ogbe, the Board’s Director of Corporate Services, Dr Abdulmalik Halilu, said the agency was prepared to support the DRC in developing a sustainable local content regime.

He said Nigeria’s framework was backed by institutional structures, regulatory collaboration and a 10-year strategic roadmap targeting 70 per cent in-country value retention and more than 300,000 direct jobs by 2027.

Onanga said the delegation was particularly interested in how Nigeria developed indigenous companies and mechanisms for retaining value domestically.

The study tour will continue until Friday, with planned visits to NCDMB headquarters in Bayelsa, Onne Free Zone fabrication facilities, the NLNG supplier session, University of Port Harcourt Gas Centre, LADOL/Nigerdock yards and other oil and gas facilities.