Nigeria’s Oil Industry Moves To Expose Real Capacity, Cut Middlemen
Princess-Ekwi Ajide
Nigeria’s oil and gas industry is moving to separate genuine capacity from paper claims as key regulators and operators prepare to conduct joint audits of local manufacturers and service providers.
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), alongside NIPEX and the Oil Producers Trade Section, have developed a harmonised framework for assessing and ranking in-country capabilities.
NCDMB Executive Secretary, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, disclosed this at the 25th Nigeria Oil and Gas Week in Abuja, noting that the initiative will help identify genuine industry capacity, eliminate intermediaries, shorten contracting timelines and promote direct patronage of established service providers.
The audit, expected to commence in the third quarter of 2026, will also identify companies capable of supporting major projects, including seven deepwater projects.
Ogbe said Nigeria’s local content drive is entering a new phase focused on manufacturing, industrialisation, capacity expansion and global competitiveness, following an increase in indigenous participation from less than five per cent to 61 per cent since the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act in 2010.
He stressed that stronger collaboration, investment in skills, technology transfer and innovation would be critical to building Nigerian companies capable of competing at global standards.
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