By Abuja’s Obas Esiedesa
Nigeria’s local content policy was not intended to limit the extent of operations of foreign oil corporations in the nation’s oil and gas sector, according to Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil).
Lokpobiri gave a speech at the “Energy for Peace and Prosperity: Securing Our Shared Future” pre-conference opening of the 2026 Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) in Abuja.
He claimed that Nigeria’s petroleum sector is sizable enough to support both domestic and foreign businesses, adding that government policy aims to build local capacity and guarantee that domestic businesses can successfully compete with foreign engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) firms.
The minister claims that although the Nigerian Content Act has given indigenous businesses financial support to increase their competitiveness, its execution has not always produced the desired results.
“When I assumed office as Minister, one of the first major issues I encountered concerned the implementation of local content. He stated, “As someone with an EPC background, I was frequently asked why project costs in Nigeria were higher than in other countries, even when those projects were carried out locally.”
“A country should not have higher project costs than foreign jurisdictions,” he continued, characterizing the situation as unacceptable. After a thorough analysis, we found that the problem was mostly caused by the local content policy being applied incorrectly.
Although indigenous companies are currently unable to carry out complicated offshore EPC projects on their own, Lokpobiri clarified that cooperation rather than exclusion is still the answer.
Foreign oil corporations are not the aim of Nigeria’s content policy, according to FGBy Obas Esiedesa, AbujaNigeria’s local content policy was not intended to limit the extent of operations of foreign oil corporations in the nation’s oil and gas sector, according to Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil).
Lokpobiri gave a speech at the “Energy for Peace and Prosperity: Securing Our Shared Future” pre-conference opening of the 2026 Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) in Abuja.He claimed that Nigeria’s petroleum sector is sizable enough to support both domestic and foreign businesses, adding that government policy aims to build local capacity and guarantee that domestic businesses can successfully compete with foreign engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) firms. The minister claims that although the Nigerian Content Act has given indigenous businesses financial support to increase their competitiveness, its execution has not always produced the desired results.Implementing local content was one of the first significant problems I faced when I took office as Minister. As someone with experience in EPC,Even when those projects were carried out locally, I was frequently asked why project expenses in Nigeria were greater than in other nations, he said.”A country should not have higher project costs than foreign jurisdictions,” he continued, characterizing the situation as unacceptable. After a thorough analysis, we found that the problem was mostly caused by the incorrect use of the local
content policy.Although indigenous companies are currently unable to carry out complicated offshore EPC projects on their own, Lokpobiri clarified that cooperation rather than exclusion is still the answer.Nigeria is big enough to allow both local businesses and EPC corporations to work together. Offshore EPC projects still generally fall within the competence of international businesses, and this has occasionally generated monopolistic conditions that constrain competition in pricing,” he said.He revealed that in order to solve this, the Governing Council on Local Content has gathered industry participants to create workable solutions through meetings that are held in conjunction with significant industry gatherings in Abuja.
By promoting collaboration between EPC businesses, petroleum operators, and robust domestic firms, these engagements aimed to make project costs globally competitive, according to Lokpobiri, who also said that offshore operations present a plethora of prospects for both domestic and international participants.Additionally, he acknowledged that previous local content policies frequently favored middlemen over true capacity building.
Nigeria is big enough for EPC corporations and local businesses to work together. Offshore EPC projects still generally fall within the competence of international businesses, and this has occasionally generated monopolistic conditions that constrain competition in pricing,” he said.
He revealed that in order to address this, the Governing Council on Local Content has brought together industry players to create workable solutions through engagements held in conjunction with significant industry events in Abuja.
According to Lokpobiri, “these engagements focused on making project costs globally competitive by encouraging cooperation among EPC companies, petroleum operators, and strong indigenous firms.” He added that offshore operations present numerous prospects for both domestic and international participants.
Additionally, he acknowledged that previous local content policies frequently favored middlemen over true capacity building.
