NOG 2026: NCDMB to begin joint industry capacity audit in Q3, targets manufacturing-led local content growth
Featured, Oil & Gas
By Anthony Isibor
THE Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, will commence a joint industry capacity audit of manufacturers and service providers in the third quarter of 2026 as part of efforts to deepen local content, eliminate intermediaries and position indigenous companies for greater participation in major oil and gas projects.
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, Felix Ogbe, announced the initiative in a keynote address delivered on his behalf by Abayomi Bamidele, Director of Capacity Building, NCDMB, at the Nigerian Content Seminar and the 25th edition of the Nigeria Oil and Gas, NOG Energy Week Conference and Exhibition in Abuja on Monday.
Ogbe said that the audit, being developed in collaboration with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, NNPC Limited, the Nigerian Petroleum Exchange, NIPEX, and the Oil Producers Trade Section, OPTS, would provide a comprehensive assessment of in-country manufacturing and service capabilities.
According to him, the exercise will eliminate unnecessary intermediaries, shorten contracting timelines and promote direct patronage of established Nigerian service providers.
“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,” he said.
He added that the findings would also guide investment decisions, technology partnerships, financing support and policy interventions required to strengthen the Nigerian oil and gas industrial base.
Ogbe explained that the capacity audit forms part of the implementation of the Presidential Directives on Local Content Compliance Requirements, particularly the provision directing the Board to develop guidelines for assessing and verifying the capacity of companies seeking contracts under the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.
He said that the Board and its partner agencies had, within the last year, developed a harmonised framework for grading companies’ capacities and capabilities, with the next stage involving modifications to their various certification portals ahead of the joint audit.
The Executive Secretary dusclosed that the next phase of Nigeria’s local content journey must move beyond participation and compliance to focus on industrialisation, manufacturing, sustainability and global competitiveness.
He noted that although Nigeria’s local content had grown from less than 5 per cent before the enactment of the NOGICD Act in 2010 to 61 per cent today and that many local manufacturers still operate below capacity because of limited market access, inadequate technology and financing constraints.
“These achievements deserve to be celebrated. However, they also compel us to ask a fundamental question: What comes next?” he said.
W.U
July 7, 2026
Tags: Abayomi Bamidele Anthony Isibor Felix Ogbe Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board