Nigeria lost an estimated $380 billion dollars in 50 years in capital flight as a result of the absence of regulation on local content development in the oil and gas industry.
The Executive Secretary to the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, who disclosed this information at oil and gas forum held in Accra said prior to the introduction of local content, value retention in oil and gas activity in the country was just five percent.
He said local content development in Nigeria has brought about the domiciliation and domestication of value addition in the oil sector, culminating in 26 percent in-country value retention compared to the five percent prior to the enactment of the Local Content Act in 2010.
Wabote who highlighted the benefits that have accrued to the country since the Act came into being, said there have been increased value addition in-country and greater involvement by indigenous companies in activities in the oil and gas industry.
For instance, he revealed that Nigeria was the only country in Sub-Sahara Africa, where FPSO integration is done in the country.
The local content regulator also cited the establishment of five world-class fabrication yards in the country, the resuscitation of moribund dry-dock, the increase in Nigerian owned marine vessels from 3 percent to 36 percent, the growth of fabrication capacity to over 60,000 tonnes per annum and the capacity to carry out 80 percent of engineering design in-country.
According to him, there were emerging indigenous operators in the industry that were doing extremely well.
