Local content and the marginal fields programme: challenges for indigenous participation in the Nigerian oil industry.

Abstract

The upstream oil sector in Nigeria since the discovery of oil in the 1950s has been dominated by international oil companies. To revise this situation and learning from the experience of countries with strong representation for indigenous local participation such as Norway and Brazil, Nigeria adopted the Marginal Fields Programme (MFP) allocating marginal oil and gas fields to Nigerian enterprises. This agenda was further boosted by local content provisions in a Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act 2010 (the Local Content Act). The main aim of this joint action is to advance local participation in the oil industry, further liberalise the oil sector and create greater opportunities for jobs and entrepreneurship by Nigerians. This paper considers the potential of the MFP and the 2010 Act on achieving these objectives.