The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has said Nigerian content in the oil and gas industry has risen to 61 per cent from five per cent in 2010.
The NCDMB General Manager, Corporate Communications, Dr. Obinna Ezeobi made this known on Thursday at the 2026 Energy Conference of the Nigerian Association of Energy Correspondents (NAEC) in Lagos.
Representing the NCDMB ES, Ezeobi said the next phase of Nigeria’s local content development must go beyond enabling Nigerian companies to participate in domestic projects to building companies capable of competing and exporting their expertise internationally.
“We have done 15 years. The next discussion is: what is the next frontier of Nigerian content?”
“The next 20 years are about being competitive. Being competitive and being able to operate not just in Nigeria, but also across the globe,” he said.
According to him, Nigerian companies have developed significant capacity over the years, but the industry must now focus on making those companies competitive enough to win opportunities beyond the Nigerian market.
“It is not enough to have capacity to operate in Nigeria. It is not enough to have Nigerian content products. Going forward, we are saying that Nigerian companies need to be competitive, to be able to operate across the globe. And that is the next frontier,” Ezeobi added.
He said the NCDMB had recorded progress through initiatives focused on capacity development, funding, infrastructure, research and development, collaboration and skills development.
Ezeobi said the board had trained more than 10,000 Nigerians in critical oil and gas skills over the past 15 years to improve their capacity to participate in the industry.
He added that about 17,000 Nigerians were currently registered on a skills-training platform established to prepare young Nigerians for opportunities arising from new investments and Final Investment Decisions in the sector.
“We are identifying the skills required to operate those projects and providing dedicated training for young Nigerians in those fields,” he said.
The NCDMB official also said the board was promoting access to finance for indigenous oilfield service companies through the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund.
He said the fund included $250 million managed through the Bank of Industry and another $150 million managed through the Nigerian Export-Import Bank to support Nigerian businesses.
Ezeobi said the board was also supporting the development of oil and gas parks where critical equipment required by the industry could be manufactured locally.
He said the NCDMB was equally promoting research and development, partnerships with foreign companies and the expansion of Nigerian businesses into other African markets.
According to him, the board recently hosted a delegation from the Republic of Congo to share Nigeria’s experience in local content development, while it also took Nigerian companies to China to engage original equipment manufacturers and explore partnerships.
Ezeobi said the initiatives were aimed at improving Nigerians’ access to assets and opportunities across the oil and gas value chain.
He said the growth in Nigerian content from five per cent in 2010 to 61 per cent currently demonstrated the progress made since the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act.
He, however, said the focus must now shift towards ensuring that Nigerian companies could compete internationally.
“The next frontier is about competitiveness, making Nigerian companies develop the ability, the agility, the capacity, the skills and technical know-how that can put us in a position to operate across the globe, be competitive and export our capacities around the world,” he said.
Ezeobi said the NCDMB would continue to partner with NAEC in communicating developments in the Nigerian content sector, deepening compliance and identifying new areas for growth.