Local content hits 61% as Nigerian Content Seminar opens NOG Energy Week 2026

Nigeria’s oil and gas industry has increased local participation from less than five percent before the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act in 2010 to more than 61 percent, attracting over $20 billion in in-country investments, according to the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).

The milestone comes as the Nigerian Content Seminar opens the 25th edition of NOG Energy Week on Monday, July 6, 2026, in Abuja under the theme, ‘Shaping the Next Phase of Local Content Growth.’ The seminar is expected to examine how Nigeria can sustain and deepen local content gains as the country prepares for a new wave of upstream oil and gas investments.

According to the organisers, the focus has shifted from increasing the share of contracts awarded to Nigerian firms to building indigenous engineering, manufacturing and operational capabilities needed to execute and maintain increasingly complex oil and gas projects without relying heavily on foreign expertise and technology.

The discussion comes against the backdrop of major offshore investments, including Shell plc’s $2 billion HI Field project and the $5 billion Bonga North deepwater development, which are expected to drive the next investment cycle in the sector.

While indigenous companies have expanded their capabilities in fabrication, marine services and project delivery, stakeholders are expected to assess whether local capacity can scale fast enough to meet the demands of the growing project pipeline.

The NCDMB has identified technical skills shortages and continued dependence on imported equipment as two major challenges to achieving higher levels of local participation.

The Board recently reviewed expatriate quota applications with industry stakeholders and launched an initiative to train more than 10,000 Nigerians to bridge critical skills gaps. Executive Secretary Felix Omatsola Ogbe said the programme is designed to equip young Nigerians with practical, industry-ready skills and reduce reliance on expatriate expertise.

The regulator is also advancing its Equipment Components Manufacturing Initiative to encourage local production of machinery and equipment that are still largely imported into the country.

Beyond Nigeria, the seminar is expected to explore regional collaboration on local content policies, as several African oil-producing countries, including Ghana, adopt frameworks modelled after Nigeria’s local content regime. Discussions will focus on how African countries can harmonise their policies to retain more value from the continent’s natural resources.

Commenting on the event, Wemimo Oyelana, portfolio and country director of dmg Nigeria events, said the conversation has evolved beyond measuring local content by percentages.

“The local content debate in Nigeria has moved on. 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,” Oyelana said.

Celebrating its 25th edition, NOG Energy Week brings together policymakers, investors and industry leaders to discuss developments across the energy value chain, including oil, gas, power, renewables, technology and finance.

The event is expected to attract more than 7,500 participants from 85 countries, with over 300 exhibitors, 2,000 conference delegates, 150 speakers and 50 conference sessions focused on advancing Africa’s energy future.