Nigerian Content Seminar opens NOG as local content hits 61%

The Nigerian oil and gas sector has lifted in-country participation from below 5% before the 2010 NOGICD Act to over 61% today, a shift the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) links to more than US$20 billion in in-country investment.  With the impacts of the NOGICD Act in boosting in-country participation in the oil […]

The Nigerian oil and gas sector has lifted in-country participation from below 5% before the 2010 NOGICD Act to over 61% today, a shift the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) links to more than US$20 billion in in-country investment. 

With the impacts of the NOGICD Act in boosting in-country participation in the oil and gas industry, the NCDMB’s Nigerian Content Seminar, will opened the 25th edition of Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week on Monday 6 July 2026, under the theme “Shaping the Next Phase of Local Content Growth.”

Wemimo Oyelana, Portfolio and Country Director, dmg Nigeria events, organizers of the NOG Energy Week, said the local content debate in Nigeria has moved on to whether the country can turn those numbers into real industrial capability, adding that it’s the conversation this seminar is built around.

 

 

 

He said as Nigeria positions itself for a fresh wave of upstream activity, the question is no longer whether local content works, but how to sustain its momentum. 

 

 

 

He said the seminar is convened to figure out both the achievement and a turning point, because the early phase of the Nigerian content journey was built on redirecting industry spend toward Nigerian firms and growing their share of contracts.

 

 

 

He said the next phase in the progress of local content demands more, including; deepening the engineering, manufacturing and operational expertise that indigenous companies need to build, run and maintain the increasingly complex assets now entering the project pipeline, without leaning on imported technology and talent.

 

 

 

According to statistics, the recent final investment decisions, from Shell’s US$2 billion HI Field to the US$5 billion Bonga North deepwater project, point to where the next investment cycle sits. 

 

 

 

He said the indigenous firms have moved up the value chain in fabrication, marine services and project delivery; how fast that capacity scales to match the pipeline is a question the seminar will weigh.

 

 

 

Oyelana said: “It is no longer about hitting a percentage. It is about whether the country can turn those numbers into real industrial capability, and that is the conversation this seminar is built around.”

 

 

 

“Twenty-five years in, NOG Energy Week has become the platform where Nigeria’s energy ambitions meet the capital and partnerships to deliver them, and the Nigerian Content Seminar opens it. The numbers have already proven the model. 

 

 

 

“Whether 61% becomes the foundation for genuine industrial capability, or a ceiling the sector settles for, is the question Abuja intends to put first. 

 

 

 

“As Nigeria’s foremost convening platform dedicated to serving the global energy industry, NOG Energy Week drives bold dialogue, strategic partnerships, and deal making to advance markets and accelerate progress. 

 

 

 

“Engage with the entire energy value chain — oil, gas, power, renewables, technology, finance, and more — over five dynamic days dedicated to shaping a secure, just, and sustainable energy future for Africa and beyond. 

 

 

 

“Over 7,500 attendees, 300 global exhibitors, 85 participating countries, 2,000 delegates, 150 speakers, 50 conference sessions will feature in the event,” he said.

 

 

 

Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, was quoted as saying that board’s review of expatriate quota applications, conducted with industry stakeholders, had identified technical skill gaps still filled from abroad, a situation that prompted a drive to train over 10,000 Nigerians.

 

 

 

Engr. Ogbe, said this will “equip young Nigerians with practical, field-ready skills to ensure they can take part in the new wave of oil and gas projects and reduce overreliance on expatriate expertise”. 

 

 

 

He said the country’s framework has become a reference point for other African producers, with Ghana and others adopting comparable rules; adding that the recurring theme will be whether the continent can align its local content regimes rather than compete on them as it works to retain more value from its own resources.”