During the 3rd African Local Content Roundtable in Abuja, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, called upon stakeholders and experts in Nigeria’s oil and gas
industry to utilize the country’s petroleum resources for the benefit of its citizens. He highlighted the vast hydrocarbon reserves in Africa, estimating that the continent collectively holds about 10 percent of global reserves, equivalent to approximately 125 billion barrels of oil. Lokpobiri emphasized the responsibility of African nations to exploit these resources to drive development and improve the lives of their citizens, businesses, and governments.
Lokpobiri also stressed Nigeria’s commitment to promoting local content development in the oil and gas sector. He emphasized the cross-cutting and significant impact of local content, including the creation of job opportunities for youths, the development of oil service infrastructure such as Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) integration yards, policy incentives that enhance the ownership of marine assets by Nigerian companies, equity investment support for new businesses, and the promotion of home-grown technology through research and innovation.
Engr. Simbi Wabote, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), delivered a keynote address on enhancing local content development and deployment in the African oil and gas industry. He emphasized the importance of an enabling regulatory framework that facilitates investments and takes into account local peculiarities. Wabote advocated for the implementation of laws, even if they are not perfect, with the possibility of amending them as necessary.
Furthermore, Wabote suggested that local content should extend beyond the oil and gas industry and become a national agenda encompassing various sectors of the economy.
Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, the Secretary-General of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organizations (APPO), also emphasized the need for collective efforts in addressing the challenges faced by the oil and 
gas industry in Africa. He stressed the importance of collaboration and working together to find solutions to these challenges.