Africa’s hydrocarbon endowment has strengthened significantly, with crude oil reserves now estimated at over 120 billion barrels and natural gas resources rising to about 800 trillion standard cubic feet (tcf), accounting for more than 10 per cent of global hydrocarbon resources, according to the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
The Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, disclosed this during a knowledge-sharing and benchmarking visit by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to the board’s headquarters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Ogbe, represented by the Director of Corporate Services, Dr. Abdulmalik Halilu, said Africa’s oil and gas industry has undergone significant transformation over the past three to four decades, stressing the need for producing countries to deepen local participation in the sector.
“As a hydrocarbon resource continent, it is in the national interest of producing countries to prioritise local content development, paying particular attention to the necessity of reversing the trend of dependency on foreign technology for exploration, field development and production activities,” he said.
He added that African countries must increasingly rely on domestic capacity to harness their natural resources, describing crude oil as a critical driver of economic transformation across the continent.
Ogbe also highlighted Africa’s demographic advantage, noting that its large youth population presents an opportunity to build a skilled workforce for the energy sector if properly developed.
Recalling Nigeria’s local content evolution, he explained that the framework began as a unit within the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) before evolving into a standalone institution.
“We have evolved from a policy to an institution,” he said, adding that the NCDMB remains the “sole agency responsible for local content” implementation in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
He further disclosed that the board is implementing a 10-Year Nigerian Content Strategic Roadmap, structured around five key pillars:
Technical Capability Development, Compliance and Enforcement, Enabling Business Environment, Organisational Capability, and Sectoral and Regional Markets. The framework is supported by enablers including funding, regulatory alignment, stakeholder collaboration, and research and development.
As part of capacity-building efforts, Ogbe said the board operates the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund) through development finance institutions such as the Bank of Industry (BOI) and the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), providing single-digit interest loans to indigenous service companies.
“What we have done is to create that access to make the local service companies competitive,” he said, noting that the initiative has enabled Nigerian firms to acquire critical assets, including marine vessels for operations in the country.
Speaking on behalf of the GNPC delegation, Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr. Eric Pwadura, expressed appreciation for the engagement, noting that Ghana continues to seek deeper understanding of Nigeria’s local content framework.
“Even though we have the legislation guiding local content, we have not had the benefit of having a robust local content environment like you have,” he said.
He added that GNPC currently operates a local content unit but is seeking broader institutional reforms to strengthen implementation.
“We want to have a deeper understanding of your local content development programme,” Pwadura said.
Also speaking, the Director of Monitoring and Evaluation at the NCDMB, Esueme Dan Kikile (Esq.), emphasised the importance of regional collaboration in strengthening Africa’s oil and gas industry.
“It’s important that we work together; we are happy to continue to share our experience in oil and gas, share our experience in local content,” he said.
The visit highlights growing interest among African oil-producing countries in Nigeria’s local content model, which has become a reference point for policy development across the continent.