A total of 132 Nigerian companies have accessed N51.785 billion and $359.653 million from local content intervention funds aimed at promoting indigenous participation in the country’s oil and gas industry, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has disclosed.
The funding includes the $350 million Nigerian Content Intervention Fund, the N50 million Working Capital Fund supported by NEXIM Bank, and the Women in Oil and Gas Fund, all designed to strengthen the capacity of Nigerian firms and promote sustainable local participation.
Fresh data released by the NCDMB on Monday showed that three manufacturing firms received N7.561 billion, 38 companies secured N22.144 billion and $205.666 million for asset acquisition, 10 firms obtained N2.232 billion and $24.728 million to finance contracts, while 25 companies benefited from N15.98 billion and $115.998 million for loan refinancing.
Speaking at a media stakeholders workshop in Abuja, NCDMB Director of Corporate Services, Abdulmalik Halilu, said the interventions have significantly increased local participation in the sector, rising from 44 per cent three years ago to 61 per cent this year.
“The NLNG Train-7 project alone engaged about 8,000 Nigerians, highlighting the tangible impact of local content policies,” Halilu said.
He added that local content is about domestication based on global best practices, and not merely indigenisation or promotion of inferior goods. “You cannot enforce local content without capacity,” Halilu stressed, noting that the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act contains 17 broad schedules and approximately 300 specific performance indicators.
Halilu explained that local content drives industrialisation, job creation, research ecosystem development, ownership of critical assets, sustainable operations, environmental responsibility, and profitable indigenous participation in the oil and gas sector.
The push for local content in Nigeria began in 2001 during President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, following a study that revealed the oil and gas industry prioritised revenue over in-country value addition. This led to the creation of a Nigerian Content Division within NNPC to promote employment, industrialisation, and domestic capacity.
The policy was later entrenched under the 2010 Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Act during President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, ensuring that local content, which emphasises producing locally without compromising global standards, remained a sustainable feature of the sector.
Halilu further explained that every intervention is based on a structured framework and roadmap, with assigned ownership and performance scorecards. “What doesn’t get measured doesn’t get done,” he said, citing the NLNG Train-7 project as a model. The project employed 8,000 Nigerians alongside 500 expatriates, engaged 1,400 vendors, and achieved local fabrication of pressure vessels, certified pumps, boots, and cables, with these capacities now leveraged by other sectors including power and construction.
“The local content initiative ensures that Nigerians are not just participants but owners of critical assets, capable of sustainable and profitable operations,” Halilu said. He added that legacy investments, such as the establishment of the FPSO integration yard in Lador, encourage large-scale indigenous investment, create infrastructure for future projects, and reduce dependence on foreign capacity.
“This is about domestication, industrialisation, and global competitiveness. Local content is not a replacement for indigenisation or supply of inferior goods; it is a strategic pathway to ensure Nigeria captures the full value of its oil and gas sector,” he explained.
Looking beyond Nigeria, Halilu noted that the NCDMB is promoting local content development across Africa. “Africa combined has about 125 billion barrels of crude oil and over 800 trillion cubic feet of gas. That is why we are working through the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation to promote local content across the continent,” he said. He highlighted initiatives such as the Africa Energy Bank and the Brazzaville Accord on local content as outcomes of Nigeria’s leadership in the area.
The NCDMB General Manager of Corporate Communications, Obinna Ezeobi, assured that the Board would continue supporting journalists through capacity-building initiatives to improve reporting on the oil and gas sector. “Today, we continue the tradition of equipping Nigerians, this time journalists, with the capability to engage meaningfully with industry players,” he said.
