The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, has said Nigeria has achieved significant growth in-country value addition from less than five per cent in 2010 to 35 per cent in 2021.
Sylva, reported the achievement at a virtual African Local Content Round Table where he said that the feat was achieved through the implementation of local content policy.
“We have set an ambitious target to achieve 70 per cent local content in the oil and gas sector by 2027.
“Our success story in the oil and gas industry has led to a bold step to extend local content to other sectors of the Nigerian economy.
“As a caring African country, we have also considered it necessary to amplify the benefits of local content to our fellow African countries and that is the essence of the African Local Content Roundtable,’’ he said .
He noted that decades of hydrocarbon production in Africa had not translated to the desired economic growth on the continent, adding that over 15 African nations were still producing and exporting crude oil.
He said that the sad reality was that the people had not benefited maximally from the natural resource, either because the proceeds were not optimally managed, or failure to domesticate the core operations of the industry.
“ We must, therefore, use the opportunity of this RoundTable to initiate conversations around local content, share success stories, challenges and come up with policies that would deepen local participation and domiciliation in our respective countries.
“ One of the pathways for this desired collaboration and cross-country development is the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and I am pleased that we have a representative of AfCFTA in this forum.
“Indeed, AfCFTA provides an opportunity to create a single market through the facilitation of free movement of goods, services and investment within the 54 member states of the continent, creating access to 1.2 billion customers, with a cumulative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of over 3.4 trillion dollars.
“ It is imperative that African oil-producing countries and their companies cooperate closely in developing and sharing capacities and capabilities to optimise the hydrocarbon deposits and achieve economic growth and development,’’ Sylva added.
He further noted that the establishment of the biggest FPSO integration yard in Lagos, Nigeria and so many other facilities could be used by other African countries.
The minister said that it made better business sense to partner with an Umbilicals producing plant in Angola, or a bolt manufacturing company in Niger Republic instead of going all the way to the United States and Norway for the same products.
“ We must take firm decisions and develop policies and projects that would position our industry competitively and sustain our economy under the emerging energy transition.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria took firm steps in this regard very recently, funding two strategic energy projects in Nigeria.
“A 10,000 tons per day methanol plant and 500 million standard cubic feet per day gas processing plant in Brass, Bayelsa State and the Ammonia and Fertilizer plant in Akwa Ibom State.
“It is my expectation that the ALCR will become a signature event, leveraging on the wonderful foundations already built by APPO and rotating among all the African oil producing countries.
“I look forward to actionable outcomes from this Roundtable and I earnestly hope it would contribute towards increased regional collaboration and development of Africa’s hydrocarbon industry,’’ he said.
