The Democratic Republic of Congo has commenced a study tour of Nigeria’s local content framework as part of efforts to strengthen indigenous participation in its oil and gas industry.

According to a statement issued on Tuesday by the General Manager, Corporate Communications Division, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Dr Obinna Ezeobi, the delegation, led by the DRC Minister of Hydrocarbons, Simplice Stev Onanga, arrived in Nigeria to understudy the policies, institutions and strategies that have enabled the country to deepen local participation in the petroleum sector.

Receiving the delegation in Abuja on Monday, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, said Nigeria was willing to share its experiences with other African oil-producing countries.

Lokpobiri said Nigeria had attained 61 per cent local content capacity since the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act 16 years ago.

He said the growth had been supported by deliberate government policies, regulatory institutions and increased participation of indigenous companies in oil and gas operations.

The minister said the divestment of onshore assets by international oil companies had also created opportunities for Nigerian companies, including Renaissance Africa Energy Company, Seplat Energy and Oando Energy Resources, to acquire and operate petroleum assets.

“The solution to Africa’s energy challenges lies within Africa,” Lokpobiri said.

He added that Nigeria was currently producing more than 1.8 million barrels of crude oil daily, noting that indigenous operators had increasingly taken control of land and shallow-water assets.

Lokpobiri explained that the Nigerian Content Development Fund was financed through a one per cent levy on awarded upstream oil and gas contracts, describing the initiative as an industry-funded mechanism for developing local capacity.

Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Felix Omatsola Ogbe, represented by the Director of Corporate Services, Dr Abdulmalik Halilu, said the NCDMB was ready to support the DRC in developing a sustainable local content regime.

Halilu said Nigeria’s local content framework was backed by institutional structures, regulatory collaboration and strategic planning.

He said the NCDMB’s 10-year strategic roadmap was targeting 70 per cent in-country value retention and more than 300,000 direct jobs by 2027.

Onanga said the DRC delegation was in Nigeria to learn from the country’s experience and adapt relevant aspects of the framework to its own petroleum industry.

“We are proud to be in Nigeria to witness what has been accomplished,” the DRC minister said.

The study tour will continue until Friday, with the delegation expected to visit the NCDMB headquarters in Bayelsa State, fabrication facilities at the Onne Free Zone, the Nigeria LNG supplier session and the University of Port Harcourt Gas Centre.

The programme will also include engagements at LADOL/Nigerdock yards and other key oil and gas facilities.