The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Ogbe, has said that the presidential directive on local content aligns with the objectives of the Board’s  10-Year Strategic Roadmap.

He stated this on Monday in his welcome address at the Nigerian Content Seminar session of the 23rd NOG Energy Week Conference (NOG), which is currently taking place in Abuja. The conference’s theme is “Showcasing opportunities, driving investment and meeting energy demand.”

The directive President Bola Tinubu issued early this year aims to deepen local content in the Nigerian oil and gas industry by enhancing competitiveness, mitigating risks, improving the approval timeline, and creating an enabling business environment.

NCDMB’s 10-Year Strategic Roadmap aims at achieving 70 percent local content in the country’s oil and gas industry. As at December 2023, local content in the industry was put at 54 percent by the Board.

According to Ogbe, the new policy directive will greatly impact Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, grow the nation’s economy, ensure cost competitiveness, and attract further investments to the industry and the country at large.

While assuring of the Board’s commitment to create the enabling business environment to boost investment, the NCDMB boss reiterated the agency’s dedication to implementing the presidential policy directive.

“The Presidential Directive and our modalities are in accordance with the objectives of our 10-Year Strategic Roadmap, as they will significantly contribute to the deepening of Nigerian Content, which will ultimately help us achieve our overarching aim of increasing the level of Nigerian Content to 70% by 2027,” he said.

“In addition, we will evaluate current policies and guidelines to encourage the development of indigenous capabilities and guarantee that these policies and guidelines are not misused, misapplied, or misinterpreted.”

As part of measures to implement the directive, Ogbe said the Board had designated five focal areas, which are: “To promote the Utilisation/growth of in-Country Capacities; enhancing the cost competitiveness of oil and gas projects; non-inclusion of intermediary entities lacking the essential capacity to perform from the Nigerian  Content Plan (NCP); approval of NCP which consist of the contractors that meet the legal definition of Nigerian companies and demonstrate the capacity to execute projects within Nigeria; and Entities acting solely as intermediaries, with no demonstrable capacity to execute the project or activity, shall not be approved.”

The Nigerian Content Seminar session of the NOG Energy Week Conference is a flagship programme that provides the platform for the Board to engage with stakeholders, share efforts and activities towards achieving the critical mandates of developing local capacities and capabilities, and enforce compliance with the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act of 2010. The event is organised by DMG Event.