By Danjuma Amodu | January 4, 2026
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has urged the nation to focus on achieving an energy mix, rather than abandoning its oil and gas resources in pursuit of energy transition.
He made this assertion at the 9th Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2026), emphasizing that Africa’s development trajectory should not be dictated by external interests.
He further highlighted the significance of local content in driving Africa’s energy growth. However, he noted that the misapplication of local content policies over the years had led to inflated project costs and limited capacity development for indigenous companies. The Minister recalled that one of the initial challenges he faced upon assuming office was the paradox of oil and gas projects being more expensive in Nigeria compared to other producing jurisdictions.
This anomaly, he explained, was largely attributed to the ineffective implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, which had shifted the focus from genuine capacity building to mere transactional compliance.
Senator Lokpobiri stressed that the original intent of the Act was to foster structured collaboration between international Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) companies and capable indigenous firms, thereby introducing competition, reducing project costs, and growing sustainable local capacity.
Furthermore, the Minister announced that the Federal Government is strengthening its oversight of local content financing mechanisms to ensure that available funding supports companies committed to long-term growth, value creation, and regional competitiveness, rather than short-term rent-seeking.
In his opening speech, the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources (MPR), Mrs. Patience N. Oyekunle, described natural gas as the backbone of Nigeria’s industrialisation drive and Africa’s most immediate pathway to economic diversification and shared prosperity. He noted that gas occupies a central position in Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan, serving as both a transition fuel and a foundational industrial feedstock.
According to Ekpo, the gas value chain offers vast opportunities for job creation, industrial clustering, and regional integration, spanning power generation, clean cooking, fertilisers, petrochemicals, methanol, compressed natural gas (CNG) for transportation, and gas-based manufacturing.
He emphasised that for gas to effectively deliver peace and prosperity, Nigeria must deliberately build indigenous capacity across the entire gas value chain, including engineering, project execution, gas processing, pipeline construction, and downstream utilisation.
Ekpo stressed that Nigerian and African companies must not only participate in gas projects but also become productive, innovative, bankable, and export-ready.
He noted that performance-driven local content in the gas sector requires a new compact among stakeholders, with the government providing clear policy signals, industry operators embedding local capacity building into project design, and financial institutions innovating to de-risk gas projects for indigenous firms.
The Permanent Secretary, MPR, Mrs. Patience N. Oyekunle, represented by the Director of Midstream and Downstream in the Ministry, Mrs. Ikenma Irene, highlighted the measurable gains recorded since the enactment of the NOGICD Act in 2010, including reduced import dependence, expanded indigenous participation, and increased domestic value retention.
However, she stressed that compliance alone is no longer sufficient, outlining four strategic imperatives: strengthening indigenous capability and competitiveness, accelerating technology transfer and innovation, expanding high-quality employment, and deepening in-country value creation and ownership.
The NOGICD Act is being repositioned to support cost competitiveness, job creation, and economic growth, aligning with Nigeria’s commitment to Africa’s collective industrial rise under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). She added
Government and industry stakeholders are committed to driving local content development, focusing on energy mix, indigenous capacity building, and sustainable value retention.
