Nigeria and Ghana Strike Local Content Deal in Oil Sector

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and Ghana’s Petroleum Commission (PCG) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen local content regulations in Ghana’s upstream petroleum sector. The agreement was formalized on Wednesday during the 2024 Annual Local Content Conference and Exhibition held in Takoradi, Ghana.

The MoU, which spans three years, focuses on mutual collaboration, skill transfer, and the sharing of expertise between the two nations. NCDMB will provide strategic advice and technical support to PCG in developing laws, frameworks, and policies for local content implementation. The aim is to enhance Ghana’s capacity to regulate its petroleum sector, particularly through data collection and baseline studies of local capacities.

The agreement also highlights the potential for fostering global collaboration and advancing knowledge in local content development. According to a statement, the MoU is expected to be a major step in driving capacity-building initiatives in Ghana’s oil and gas industry.

“The NCDMB will offer technical guidance in formulating regulations and designing strategic plans for local content implementation in Ghana,” the statement reads. It further noted that this partnership echoes NCDMB’s earlier collaboration with Senegal’s National Content Monitoring Committee in 2022, which aimed to boost local content in Senegal’s oil and gas industry.

Felix Ogbe, Executive Secretary of NCDMB, represented by Abdulmalik Halilu, Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, and Naboth Onyesoh, Director of Legal Services, signed the agreement on behalf of Nigeria. PCG was represented by its Chief Executive Officer, Egbert Faibille, and acting General Counsel, Nana Akua Agyei.

During the conference, Ogbe emphasized the importance of African oil and gas service companies working together to strengthen local content across the continent. He said that such collaboration aligns with the goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and would sustainably drive growth in the sector.

“This event is a testament to our unwavering commitment to fostering strategic partnerships and driving sustainable growth within our sector,” Ogbe remarked.

Speaking on the conference’s theme, ‘Attracting E&P Investments to Boost Local Content: New Pathways’, Ogbeunderscored the need for innovative approaches to unlock Africa’s vast hydrocarbon resources. Africa holds an estimated 125 billion barrels of oil, about 10 per cent of global reserves.

He also highlighted NCDMB’s achievements, noting that local content in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector had risen from less than 5 per cent in 2010 to 54 per cent in 2023, attributing this to the NOGICD Act and industry-wide collaboration.

NCDMB, established in 2010, is mandated to promote and monitor local content in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, while Ghana’s PCG, created by the Petroleum Commission Act in 2011, regulates the country’s upstream petroleum sector. Both agencies now look to this new partnership as a catalyst for regional growth and self-reliance in the oil industry.