LOCAL CONTENT IN THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY HAS RISEN TO 54% - FG

According to the Federal Government, it expanded local content investment operations in the oil and gas business by 54% in 2022.

In addition, the administration reiterated its intention to raise the figure to 70% by 2027.

Engr. Simbi Wabote, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, made the announcement on Wednesday during a press conference to launch the fourth edition of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair, 2023, in Abuja.

Wabote stated that the board is committed to developing the capabilities of indigenous oil and gas businesses in accordance with its 10-year strategic roadmap.

He stated that NOGOF has had a significant impact on the sector since its inception in 2017.

He went on to say that this year's edition will not disappoint, but would serve as a springboard to resolving the difficulties confronting Nigeria's oil and gas industry.

"With the advent of NOGOF, today, 50 per cent of the activities in NLNG Train 7 project are being done by Nigeria because we provided the required information on capacity building. I sincerely believe in the future that almost 70 per cent of activities in the oil gas sector will be done by Nigerians in-country.

"The industry (in) those days spent close to $21 billion yearly in the oil and gas sector, less than five per cent remains in the country; virtually everything was done outside Nigeria, today 54 per cent of that is retained in the country in terms of monetary value and activities.

"Our sister African countries keep coming to Nigeria to seek advice on the strategies to develop the oil and gas sector. Recently when the CEOs of National Oil Companies met in Algeria, they decided that the commission should help them develop their sector. Also, in Gambia, when they discovered crude oil and approached the World Bank, the bank directed them to NCDMB to understand the strategies needed to succeed," he said.

MON DIARIES has learned that NOGOF 2023, which will be held in Bayelsa on May 18 and 19, with the subject "The Oil and Gas Industry: Catalyst and Fuel For Industrialization of Nigeria" would stimulate investment and foster growth within the oil and gas value chain.