DR Congo Begins Study Tour of Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Local Content Framework

The Democratic Republic of Congo has begun a study tour of Nigeria’s oil and gas local content framework as it explores ways to strengthen indigenous participation and retain more value within its petroleum industry.

A high-level delegation led by the DRC Minister of Hydrocarbons, Simplice Stev Onanga, arrived in Nigeria for the programme, which is focused on examining the policies, institutions and strategies that have supported the development of local participation in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, received the delegation in Abuja and said Nigeria was prepared to share its experience with other African oil-producing countries. According to the minister, Nigeria has reached 61 per cent local content capacity since the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act 16 years ago.

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, established under the 2010 legislation, is responsible for implementing and monitoring Nigerian content requirements across the petroleum industry. Its functions include assessing Nigerian Content plans, setting minimum content levels, supporting capacity development, monitoring compliance and managing the Nigerian Content Development Fund.

Lokpobiri said Nigeria’s progress had been supported by deliberate policies, regulatory institutions and increased participation by indigenous companies. He also pointed to the transfer of some onshore and shallow-water assets from international oil companies to Nigerian operators as an area that has created opportunities for domestic businesses.

The minister said the Nigerian Content Development Fund is financed through a one per cent levy on awarded upstream oil and gas contracts. The mechanism is intended to support local capacity development and strengthen Nigerian participation across the industry.

The NCDMB, represented during the meeting by its Director of Corporate Services, Abdulmalik Halilu, said the agency was ready to assist the DRC in developing a sustainable local content framework. The Board highlighted Nigeria’s institutional arrangements, regulatory coordination and 10-year strategic roadmap as elements that could provide useful lessons for the Congolese petroleum sector.

The roadmap is targeting 70 per cent in-country value retention and more than 300,000 direct jobs by 2027, according to the NCDMB. These are stated targets rather than outcomes already achieved.

Onanga said the purpose of the visit was to understand how Nigeria developed its local companies and established mechanisms for retaining value from its petroleum resources. He said the DRC intended to identify lessons that could be adapted to its own circumstances rather than simply reproduce Nigeria’s system.

The study tour is scheduled to continue through Friday. The delegation is expected to visit the NCDMB headquarters in Bayelsa State, fabrication facilities at the Onne Free Zone, a Nigeria LNG supplier session and the University of Port Harcourt Gas Centre. The programme also includes engagements with facilities at LADOL and Nigerdock, among other oil and gas industry locations.

The visit reflects growing cooperation between African oil-producing countries on developing domestic capacity and increasing the economic benefits retained within their own economies. For the DRC, the Nigerian experience provides a practical case study of how legislation, regulatory institutions, industry funding and capacity-building programmes can be combined to promote local participation.

However, the effectiveness of any model ultimately depends on how well it fits the economic, regulatory and industrial conditions of the country adopting it. The DRC delegation is therefore expected to examine Nigeria’s approach and determine which elements can be adapted to its own petroleum industry.