Oil sector local content hits 61% as Nigeria targets export-ready companies
Nigeria’s local content level in the oil and gas industry has risen from about five per cent in 2010 to 61 per cent, but the Federal Government is now pushing for a bigger economic payoff by turning indigenous companies from domestic contractors into globally competitive businesses capable of exporting their services, skills and equipment.
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Felix Ogbe, disclosed this at the 2026 Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria Conference in Lagos, saying the next phase of the local content policy would focus on competitiveness, market expansion and internationalisation.
Ogbe, represented by the board’s General Manager, Corporate Communications, Obinna Ezeobi, said the progress recorded over the past 16 years had created significant indigenous capacity across the oil and gas value chain.
“The next frontier is about being competitive,” he said.
The achievement represents a major shift from the position in 2010, when local participation was below five per cent following the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act. The NCDMB said the current 61 per cent level reflects the emergence of Nigerian firms capable of owning and managing critical assets, executing projects and providing specialised services across the industry.
But Ogbe said domestic participation alone was no longer sufficient.
“It is not enough to have the capacity to operate in Nigeria. It is not enough to have Nigerian content and products. Going forward, Nigerian companies need to be competitive and able to operate across the globe,” he said.
The shift has significant implications for Nigeria’s industrial and foreign exchange ambitions. Companies that can supply equipment, engineering, fabrication, marine services, technology and other energy-sector capabilities outside Nigeria could create a new source of service exports while reducing the country’s dependence on imported oilfield equipment.
The NCDMB is therefore supporting indigenous businesses through financing, equipment development, research and development, skills development and partnerships with international companies and original equipment manufacturers.
In 2025, the board launched a $100 million Equity Investment Scheme designed to provide equity financing to high-growth indigenous energy service companies and strengthen their capacity to scale.
The board has also set a 70 per cent local-content target for 2027, meaning the industry must increase domestic participation by another nine percentage points while simultaneously raising the quality and competitiveness of the companies involved.
For indigenous operators, however, financing and access to projects remain major obstacles. Chairman of the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria, Ugo Amadi, identified high entry costs, lengthy approval processes and funding constraints as barriers limiting the ability of local companies to develop oil and gas assets.
The economic importance of overcoming those constraints is substantial. A stronger domestic supply chain means more of the money generated by Nigeria’s oil and gas industry can circulate within the local economy through salaries, manufacturing, professional services, logistics and investment.
It also reduces the leakage created when operators rely heavily on imported equipment and Foreign Service providers.
The NCDMB’s strategy now mirrors that broader industrial ambition. The board has said Nigerian companies are developing supply chains capable of servicing both domestic and regional markets, while urging stronger collaboration among regulators, operators, financiers, manufacturers and indigenous businesses.
Nigeria’s local-content gains therefore mark only the first stage of the policy.
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