Oil & Gas: NCDMB Set To Host African Local Content Roundtable In Yenagoa

The maiden edition of the African Local Content Roundtable has been scheduled to hold in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State Capital, Nigeria on 3rd and 4th of June 2021.

The maiden edition of the African Local Content Roundtable will host several dignitaries and policy leaders in the oil and gas, government, development agencies, and related sectors connected to the oil and gas sector

The objective of the Pan-African engagement, according to the organizers, is to institutionalize peer review mechanism among African oil-producing countries on local content, as a key development imperative for domestication and sustainable growth of Africa’s hydrocarbon resources.

Some of the expected guests will include the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, the Secretary-General of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (SG, AfCFTA), and heads of Africa Development Organizations.

In a statement made available to the press on Tuesday, the organizers note that over the years, critical stakeholders in the oil and gas sector in Africa have been fascinated by the remarkable impact and achievements of Nigeria in the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act and the development of its hydrocarbon resources which is anchored on the philosophy of In-Country Value Addition.

It stated that African countries such as Uganda, Ghana, Niger Republic, Congo have at various times undertook a study tour to institutions in Nigeria,  to understand the Nigerian Content delivery model, with some of the countries signing their own local content laws or policies based on insights from Nigeria.

It went further to highlight that the African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO) charter on bilateral cooperation among African oil-producing countries is also a bold step to galvanize African countries towards regional cooperation in the area of developing capacities and capabilities to deliver oil and gas services within the continent.

Based on the foregoing, the statement continued, the proposed annual African Local Content Roundtable will herald the creation of a structured engagement platform among African countries to discuss local content and sustainability in hydrocarbon development.

Some of the roundtable objectives, set to be achieved, will be to: “Promote the conversation among policymakers on the role of local content as a key economic development imperative for African oil-producing countries, lay a solid foundation for the design of an African local content programme, and share data on capacities that exist around skills, infrastructure, facilities, assets and funding for exploration, field development and production activities”.

Some of the topical issues for discussion at the event will include deliberations on the Impact of Local Content Policy on value creation in the African Continent-case study of Nigeria. The event will be able to examine the impact of Local Content policies on the development of local supply chain, job creation, and Sectoral linkages, evaluate the role of local content in strengthening the capacity of the African Regional economy in the context of the African Union charter on economic integration, and evaluate regulatory models for the governance, funding, monitoring, and an appraisal of local content implementation in selected economies

The other core objectives will include an opportunity for creating an enabling framework for African Oil Producing Countries to adopt Local Content Requirements in their hydrocarbon development policy; to enhance sustainable economic and social development in Africa.  Analyzing the role of information and data sharing in capacity building and market linkages among African oil-producing countries within the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement and a scheduled tour of landmark projects initiated by NCDMB will form part of the programme.

Participation is expected to be drawn from several countries with two participants each from member countries of the African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO). In addition, there will be one representative each from the African Union AU, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD, African Continental Free Trade Area AfCFTA, Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS, African Development Bank AfDB, and United Nations Industrial Development Organization UNIDO.

The two-day event will be hosted at the Magnificent NCBMB Towers, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, from the 3rd to the 4th of June 2021. According to the organizers, the dates have been strategically picked close to Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS 2021) to manage the logistics of participants who will be attending NIPS 2021 from 6th to 10th June 2021.  The Roundtable is sponsored by NCDMB and APPO, with Heritage Times as Event Managers.