The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has emphasized that Nigeria’s local content policy is intended to build partnerships rather than push out international oil companies operating in the country.
Speaking at the pre-conference opening of the 2026 Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) in Abuja—themed “Energy for Peace and Prosperity: Securing Our Shared Future”—Lokpobiri stressed that Nigeria’s petroleum sector has sufficient room for both local and foreign operators to thrive side by side.
The minister outlined that government policy focuses on building domestic capabilities while enabling Nigerian companies to compete on equal footing with international Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractors.
Lokpobiri acknowledged that the Nigerian Content Act has provided financial backing to local firms to enhance their competitiveness, though implementation has fallen short of expectations in some areas.
“Upon taking office, local content implementation emerged as one of my first major challenges. Drawing on my EPC experience, I was consistently asked why Nigerian project costs exceeded those in other countries, even for locally executed work,” he stated.
He characterized this situation as untenable, noting: “It’s unacceptable for a country to incur higher project expenses than other nations. Our investigation revealed that the problem originated primarily from incorrect application of local content regulations.”
The minister pointed out that Nigerian firms currently cannot handle sophisticated offshore EPC projects independently, making partnership—not exclusion—the appropriate path forward.
“Nigeria’s market can accommodate both EPC contractors and local companies working together. International firms still dominate offshore EPC expertise, which has occasionally produced monopolistic environments that reduce pricing competition,” Lokpobiri explained.
To remedy this, he announced that the Governing Council on Local Content has brought together industry stakeholders to forge practical solutions through discussions held during major industry gatherings in Abuja.
“These discussions concentrated on achieving globally competitive project pricing by promoting collaboration among EPC contractors, petroleum operators and capable Nigerian firms,” the minister said, highlighting that offshore activities present significant opportunities for domestic and international participants alike.
Lokpobiri also conceded that earlier local content policy implementation frequently benefited middlemen rather than genuinely developing local capacity.
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