Nigeria’s Oil Industry Shifts To Broader Project Funding, Regulatory Framework

Stakeholders in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry would be delighted to consider new framework for local content implementation beyond 2027, as they converge at the Practical Nigerian Content (PNC) Forum 2026 to address funding, project opportunities, industrial capacity and regulatory reforms.

The forum comes as local content performance has reached 61 per cent under the Nigerian Content Strategic Roadmap 2017–2027, with the country targeting 70 percent.

The development coincides with renewed investment in the upstream sector, including Shell’s $2 billion HI Field project and the $5 billion Bonga North project, while indigenous operators are increasingly taking over assets divested by international oil companies.

Organisers said the forum would bring together government, regulators, international oil companies, indigenous operators and service companies to determine the priorities that should guide Nigerian Content implementation over the next decade.

Speaking on the theme of this year’s forum, Wemimo Oyelana, Portfolio and Country Director, dmg Nigeria Events, said the industry must shift its focus from measuring past achievements to determining what would be required to sustain and deepen the gains.

“Fifteen years of Nigerian Content implementation have demonstrated what sustained policy, regulatory commitment and industry collaboration can achieve,” Oyelana said.

“As the current Roadmap approaches its conclusion, the conversation must now move beyond measuring progress to defining what the next decade requires.”

“PNC 2026 provides a platform for stakeholders to collectively shape those priorities, from funding and project delivery to the policy frameworks needed to sustain and deepen this progress.”

The forum will focus on four major priorities: mobilising capital, project opportunities, advancing Nigerian Content, and policy and legislation.

Discussions on capital mobilisation will examine how improved access to finance, stronger financial partnerships and innovative funding structures can enable indigenous companies to scale operations, compete for larger contracts and execute increasingly complex projects.

Stakeholders will also explore ways to improve visibility of procurement plans, strengthen supplier development and deepen collaboration between operators and indigenous businesses to unlock opportunities across the energy value chain.

The forum is also expected to examine strategies for closing existing capacity gaps, improving competitiveness and accelerating industrialisation through local content.

On policy and legislation, participants will consider how Nigeria’s regulatory framework can respond to changing market conditions, technological developments and investor expectations while supporting investment, compliance and sustainable growth.

The organisers said the forum would feature strategic leadership panels, executive debates, a town hall, breakout sessions and a Local Content Impact Stage.

The sessions are expected to provide opportunities for government and industry leaders to discuss policy and investment priorities, address compliance challenges and develop practical solutions, while the Impact Stage will facilitate major announcements, memoranda of understanding and partnerships.

Among the speakers expected at the forum are the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Felix Omatsola Ogbe; Shell Companies in Nigeria’s EVP and Country Chair, Elohor Aiboni; TotalEnergies Nigeria Country Chairman and Managing Director, Matthieu Bouyer; and Chevron Nigeria-Mid-Africa Business Unit Chairman and Managing Director, Jim Swartz.

Others include ExxonMobil Affiliates in Nigeria Chairman and Managing Director, Jagir Baxi; Chairman of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN),  Wole Ogunsanya; President of the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN), Chris Osarumwense; and senior directors of the NCDMB.

With Nigeria’s local content drive approaching a critical transition point, the forum is expected to provide an avenue for stakeholders to define the financing, policy, investment and capacity-building priorities that will shape the next phase of implementation