– Local Content Partner to Boost Capacity Building
Cape Town, South Africa — Throughout its 14-year history, social enterprise and development institution the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has made tremendous achievements in Africa’s oil and gas industry. With an overarching goal to boost local content in Nigeria to 70% by 2027, the NCDMB has developed over 150 information and communication technology centers in secondary schools across the country, upgraded select technical colleges as part of an institutional strengthening program, revamped dilapidated primary schools and successfully trained a workforce of over 16,000 individuals.
The NCDMB has joined African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energy 2024 – Africa’s premier event for the energy sector, taking place from November 4-8 in Cape Town – as the event’s local content partner. The NCDMB is also a platinum sponsor of the conference, further underscoring its commitment to driving local content development throughout the entire value chain of the African energy sector.
AEW: Invest in African Energy is the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and government, and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy. Visit www.AECWeek.com for more information about this exciting event.
Established in 2010 under the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, the NCDMB has been a driving force behind positive developments in building local capacity within Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. The NCDMB has been active in enhancing strategic partnerships with academia and industry players to develop infrastructure, drive local content strategies and promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics education initiatives. As such, their participation at AEW: Invest in African Energy 2024 underscores the importance of nurturing local talent and business to achieve sustainable growth in the African energy sector.
The NCDMB and Nigerian government agency the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) agreed to collaborate on upgrading basic education in the country while promoting local capacity building to meet the needs of the oil and gas industry and the linkages sector. The agreement was finalized on July 23 during a meeting between NCDMB Executive Secretary Eng. Felix Omatsola Ogbe and UBEC Executive Secretary Dr. Hamid Bobboyi where they discussed upgrading primary and junior secondary schools across the country, training teachers and upgrading critical facilities to meet student needs.
The development institution also hosted a senate committee retreat this week with relevant stakeholders to discuss collaboration and management in growing Nigerian local content in the oil and gas industry. Under a mandate to create a synergy for local content development in the country, the NCDMB sought to examine the improvement of critical assets and emergence of requisite skills to enable indigenous participants to deliver complex projects and lead operations in the sector.
Outside of Nigeria, the NCDMB organized a two-day local content development experience-sharing session in February with a delegation from Mozambique’s national oil company Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetes. The session served to showcase the NCDMB’s commitment to supporting emerging oil and gas producing nations in Africa to develop local content policies as a strategy for improving indigenous participation and value optimization from hydrocarbons and mineral resources.
“Throughout their years of service, the NCDMB has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to fostering local content policies that not only benefit Nigerians but also create opportunities for other Africans. The institution promotes intra-African collaboration and contributes immensely to indigenous participation, local manufacturing and skills development. As champions for inclusivity and the empowerment of local communities, the institution will continue to play an instrumental role in Africa’s oil and gas industry for the long-term,” stated African Energy Chamber Executive Chairman NJ Ayuk.
