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The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) says it will commence a joint industry-wide audit of in-country manufacturing and service capacities in the third quarter of 2026.
The move, according to the agency, is designed to eliminate intermediaries from Nigeria’s oil and gas contracting process and channel business directly to qualified local companies.
Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Mr. Felix Ogbe, announced the initiative on Monday at the 25th Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week in Abuja.
Ogbe said the audit is part of a harmonised industry framework jointly developed over the past year by the NCDMB, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NIPEX), and the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS).
According to him, the participating organisations have agreed to modify their certification portals ahead of the exercise, which will establish a unified assessment of the capabilities of Nigerian manufacturers and service providers operating in the oil and gas industry.
“The outcome of the in-country capacity audit will provide a detailed understanding of existing capabilities, eliminate intermediaries, improve contracting cycle timelines, and ensure direct patronage of established service providers for business sustainability and growth,” Ogbe said.
He explained that the audit would also provide regulators and industry operators with credible data to guide investment decisions, technology partnerships, financing support and future policy interventions.
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Ogbe disclosed that while the audit would help identify companies capable of participating in seven major deepwater projects expected in the industry, it would also support smaller indigenous firms through a new five-tier classification framework.
Under the framework, companies categorised as “Emerging Players” and “Essential Vendors” will benefit from a structured vendor development programme aimed at transforming them into manufacturers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
The programme, he said, will identify high-potential local vendors, assess their readiness for manufacturing, facilitate technical partnerships, improve access to financing and connect them with guaranteed market opportunities.
Ogbe noted that the next phase of Nigeria’s local content policy must move beyond compliance to focus on industrialisation, manufacturing and globally competitive Nigerian companies.
He added that although Nigerian content has grown from less than five per cent before the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act in 2010 to 61 per cent today.
The NCDMB boss maintained that sustaining that growth requires stronger collaboration across regulators, operators, financiers and manufacturers as well as reliable patronage for existing local capacities.
