Nigerian Content in the Oil & Gas Industry: a 6-Year Score Card
A Guest Feature Article, by Akeem Babatunde (Govt. Relations Analyst)
In the Nigerian oil and gas industry, it used to be standard practice that international corporations reaped the benefits of doing business in Nigeria without any specific plan or visible attempt to empower local citizens to obtain the skills to succeed them after leaving. This had a direct impact on indigenous individuals and businesses in the oil and gas service market, who were not given a fair consideration in the award of oil and gas related contracts due to the perceived superior technical expertise and experience of foreign workers or companies.
As a result of the activities of organizations such as the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), as well as other indigenous establishments, the then president of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan gave his nod of approval to the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act of 2010, which is also known as the “Nigerian Content Act”.