The Federal Government of Nigeria has long emphasised its desire for greater Nigerian content in the oil and gas industry. The National Assembly is debating a Nigerian Content Bill which seeks to define and set targets for Nigerian content in terms of company ownership, participation and capacity-building, and ultimately, total spending by the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

According to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), only 14% is invested in Nigerian content compared with 25% in Indonesia, 50% in Norway and 70% in Brazil and Malaysia. NNPC’s goal is to achieve 45% by year end 2007 and 70% by 2010. Also, criteria for judging bids will include Nigerian content and equity as well as financial and technical abilities.

Intels Nigeria Ltd, through its operations at the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone, Warri and Calabar, has created environments that allow for the creation of Nigerian content and employment by providing the facilities and strategic location to enhance the development of Nigerian skilled labour and enterprise.

NNPC management has directed that in order to realise the aspirations of the Nigerian Content Policy and meet targets set for 2007 and 2010, the following guidelines should be implemented:

• FEED and detailed engineering design for all projects is to be domiciled in Nigeria;
• Project Management Teams and Procurement Centres for all projects in the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry must be located in Nigeria;
• Henceforth, all operators and project promoters must forecast procurement items required for projects and operational activities and forward the Materials List to NCD on or before 31st January of every year. Also, a Master Procurement Plan (MPP) for ongoing and approved projects should be submitted to the Nigerian Content Division of NNPC on or before 31st January of every year;
• Fabrication and integration of all fixed (onshore and offshore) platforms weighing up to 10,000 tons are to be carried out in Nigeria. For the fixed platforms (onshore and offshore) greater than 10,000 tons ,  all items in Directive No.5(= piles, desks, anchors, buoys, jackets, pipe racks, bridges, flare booms and storage tanks, including galvanising works for process  plants ) pressure vessels and integration of the topside modules are to be carried out in Nigeria;
• Henceforth, fabrication of all piles, decks, anchors, buoys, jackets, pipe racks, bridges, flare booms, and storage tanks including all galvanising works for LNG and process plants are to be done in Nigeria;
• Henceforth, all flow-lines and risers must be fixed and must be fabricated in Nigeria except for special cases to be demonstrated and approved by NCD;
• Henceforth, assembling, testing and commissioning of all subsea valves, Christmas trees, wellheads and system integration tests are to be carried out in Nigeria;
• All FPSO contract packages are to be bid on the basis of carrying out topside integration in Nigeria. A minimum of 50% of the total tonnage of FPSO topside modules must be fabricated in Nigeria.
• All third party services relating to fabrication and construction including but not limited to NDT, mechanical tests, PWHT as well as certification of welding procedures and welders must be carried out in Nigeria. Nigerian institute of Welding must certify all such tests in collaboration with international accreditation bodies;
• All operators and project promoters must ensure that recommendations for contract awards in respect of all major projects being forwarded to NNPC/constituted boards of such oil and gas companies for approval must include evidence of binding agreement by the main contractor with Nigerian contents subcontractor(s). Such agreements shall indicate the cost and detailed scope including total man-hours for engineering, tonnage and man hours of fabrication and relevant defining parametres for materials to be procured locally as well as other services;