Page 21 - Nigeriaone mag 2 edition en

The local content development in African oil and gas producing

countries

African woman, illustrative image

Youth in Africa constitutes a significant share of the population. African nations prioritize local content
development in their bid to maximize the exploitation of their substantial oil and gas reserves. In that
regard, Luanda (Angola) hosted the 8th African Petroleum Congress and Exhibition (Cape V111) on 16-19
May 2022. At the event, discussions revolved around challenges and opportunities of the local content
development for the youth and entrepreneurs in the continent's hydrocarbon market . Numerous challenges
plague the African energy sector, such as technology issues, infrastructure, market, expertise, and
investment. Salisu Isihak, the Chairman of the World Energy Council’s Future Energy Leaders Nigeria,
believes that African youth has the potential to solve prevailing problems. He said “The innovation among
the youth will enable the development and implementation of solutions to industry challenges. They are key
in safeguarding a just energy transition and will be drivers in ensuring the resources are beneficial to the
continent.”
There have been some notable accomplishments in local content development in some African nations,
despite serious challenges. Some of the panelists at the event highlighted the significant steps that have been
taken by certain African countries to improve young people's participation in the market. In addressing the
industry experience gap, Kwaku Boateng, Director of Local Content at the Petroleum Commission of Ghana,
spoke about the important initiatives taken by his country. “Ghana only started to develop its oil and gas in
2010 and the market is still young. Right now, we are trying to develop our local content. Because our
technicians had no requisite experience, international firms were bringing their own experienced workers.
We decided to develop a number of programs such as the Ghana Upstream Sector Internship Program and
Associated Oil and Gas Capacity Building Program, in which we placed youths in technical institutions to
train them. We also realized our technicians did not have accreditation to work for international firms,
hence we developed a program to ensure our graduates are trained with the right certification to ensure they
are recognized internationally.”

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