Sixteen years after Nigeria enacted the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, industry leaders are set to examine whether the policy has translated into lasting industrial capacity, indigenous ownership and globally competitive businesses, beyond the local participation percentages recorded in oil and gas contracts.
The debate will take centre stage at the 15th Practical Nigerian Content (PNC) Forum 2026, which opens on November 30 with a closed-door Local Content Roundtable at the Nigerian Content Tower in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
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The roundtable, themed ‘Building Sustainable Local Capacity: Scaling Capability, Enabling Ownership and Funding Growth’, will bring together lawmakers, regulators and private sector leaders to assess the physical, technological and intellectual capacity Nigeria has developed since 2010 and whether indigenous businesses can sustain operations beyond individual projects.
A central question is whether investments by oil and gas operators in training, certification, supplier development and technology transfer have created industrial assets that can support long-term economic growth, or whether much of the capacity developed remains tied to individual contracts and project requirements.
The discussions will also examine how much sustainable local capacity costs, who should finance it and what infrastructure, technology and expertise should remain within Nigeria after major projects are completed.
“Every year at PNC, we celebrate the percentage. This year, we wanted a room that explores what that percentage is made of, and how we build on it,” said Wemimo Oyelana, Portfolio and country director, dmg events.
Oyelana said the skills, technology and industrial capacity developed through projects over the past 16 years represent assets that need to be sustained, measured and expanded.
The roundtable is expected to explore how Nigeria can move beyond measuring local content performance through participation levels to assessing the depth of domestic industrial capabilities, ownership of critical technologies and the ability of indigenous companies to compete internationally.
For indigenous oil and gas businesses, the challenge extends beyond securing contracts from operators to developing the technical expertise, financing structures and productive capacity required to execute larger projects and expand into international markets.
Access to long-term financing, technology commercialisation and strategic partnerships will therefore feature prominently in discussions about how local businesses can scale beyond the domestic market.
The PNC 2026 programme, themed ‘Defining Strategic Priorities for the Next Decade of Nigerian Content Implementation’, will introduce three additional features aimed at broadening the conversation around the next phase of local content development.
These include the Local Content Impact Stage, which will showcase deals and partnerships supporting indigenous capacity; an Executive Debate examining whether local content represents a cost burden or competitive advantage; and breakout sessions designed to establish priority actions for the next decade.
The executive debate, titled ‘The Business Case for Local Content: Cost Burden or Competitive Advantage?’, will examine how local participation can deliver lasting commercial value beyond the execution of individual contracts.
The forum will also provide operators and project developers with an opportunity to assess how domestic capacity can support project delivery and improve long-term competitiveness, while indigenous businesses, investors and technology providers will explore opportunities for financing, partnerships and expansion across the energy value chain.
Marking 16 years since the enactment of the NOGICD Act, PNC 2026 will bring together policymakers, industry executives, investors and indigenous businesses to shape priorities for the next decade of Nigerian content implementation.
The broader challenge facing the industry is how to translate local content obligations into enduring industrial capabilities, stronger indigenous ownership and businesses capable of competing beyond Nigeria’s borders.
Royal Ibeh is a senior journalist with years of experience reporting on Nigeria’s technology and health sectors. She currently covers the Technology and Health beats for BusinessDay newspaper, where she writes in-depth stories on digital innovation, telecom infrastructure, healthcare systems, and public health policies.
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