NCDMB targets skill gaps to drive local content, job creation

By Olakunle Oke

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has outlined critical skill areas it will prioritize to boost local capacity and create jobs in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, with underwater welding, subsea engineering, deep water operations, geosciences, and digitalization among its key focus.

Executive Secretary of the Board, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, disclosed this in Cape Town, South Africa, during his keynote address at the ongoing Africa Energy Week (AEW), themed “From Policy to Prosperity: Scaling Local Content for Africa’s Energy Future.”

Ogbe, represented by the Director of Corporate Services, Dr. Abdulmalik Halilu, said the NCDMB will adopt a training model that combines classroom learning with practical, hands on experience to close capacity gaps in specialized areas such as project management, instrumentation and controls, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and helicopter piloting.

He stressed that challenges such as infrastructure gaps and financing constraints should inspire stronger collaboration among governments, operators, service companies, and host communities. 

Ogbe also called for harmonized local content policies across Africa, regional supply chains, and support from continental institutions like the African Energy Bank.

Highlighting Nigeria’s local content progress, the NCDMB boss said in country value addition has risen to 57 percent, up from five percent in 2010 when the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act was enacted. 

According to him, the Act has driven initiatives such as marine vessel categorization, equipment component manufacturing, and project-based training that have deepened Nigerian participation in the sector.

“Nigeria now hosts world class fabrication and integration yards, cable manufacturing facilities, and engineering capacity for onshore, offshore, and LNG projects,” Ogbe said, adding that indigenous firms such as Renaissance Africa Energy, Seplat, and Oando are taking over assets divested by international oil companies in line with Nigeria’s target to hit three million barrels of oil per day by 2030.

He also pointed to President Bola Tinubu’s recent Executive Orders on tax incentives and shorter contract cycles, which have already spurred landmark projects including the Ubeta Gas Development and Bonga North field.

Ogbe reaffirmed NCDMB’s commitment to working with other African countries to build an energy sector “owned, operated, and sustained by Africans.”

The Africa Energy Week, hosted by the African Energy Chamber, is Africa’s premier exhibition and networking platform for energy policymakers, operators, service providers, and investors.