Nigeria: African oil producing countries gathering next week in Abuja

African hydrocarbon producing countries plan to meet from 25 to 26 October next to look for ways and means to overcome difficulties so they face in the exercise of oil activities on the continent. One of the most important points, which should be at the heart of these exchanges of participants in the framework of the activities of the Organization of African Petroleum Producers (APPO), will concern the standards of Local Content and their implementation in Africa.

According to Omar Farouk, the APPO’s Secretary General, it will be a question of «encouraging local content managers and experts from member countries to examine the approaches and regulations employed». The objective is to promote «Local Content throughout the value chain of the African oil and gas industry», by addressing the imminent challenges it faces, including the decline in oil and gas investments.

Nigeria is among the most advanced crude oil producing countries on the continent in terms of local content. In late January 2023, the West African economic giant reiterated its commitment to support the implementation of local content standards in Africa.

Remember that Nigeria supports the development of local content in the oil and gas industry in Senegal. This is reflected in a memorandum of understanding signed on 10 March 2023 between the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), a body responsible for enforcing the implementation of local content in Nigeria, and officials from Senegal’s oil industry.

Angela Okori