NCDMB Approves Over 440 Expatriate Slots in Oil Sector

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has approved the requests of no fewer than 448 foreigners to work and earn a living in the oil and gas sector, even as the Federal Government pushes for 70 per cent local content participation in the industry.

Data obtained by Economic Confidential on Thursday showed that the approvals covered both long-term expatriate quota slots granted within the first half of 2025 from January to June.

These expatriate quotas typically allow foreign experts to work in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector for roles deemed not locally available. The approvals reflect the country’s continued reliance on foreign expertise for specialised roles, despite ongoing reforms to promote indigenous capacity.

However, stakeholders have raised concerns that the expatriate quota system is still being misused, with multiple government agencies allegedly issuing approvals independently.

In March 2025, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria clashed with Sterling Oil, accusing the company of employing foreign nationals in violation of local content regulations.

It accused the Federal Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Interior of disregarding established regulations in granting approximately 11,000 Indians expatriate status for employment at Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company Limited. The issue was resolved with a commitment by the company to disengage the foreign nationals and engage more Nigerians.

A breakdown of the data obtained from the board’s stakeholders’ magazine revealed that the board approved 246 expatriate quota requests in the first quarter and 202 in the second quarter, totalling 448 EQ approvals within the six months.

This figure is, however, 101 or 18 per cent less than the 549 approval given by the board in the first three quarters of 2024. Additionally, a total of 158 temporary work permits were granted within the period, with 111 TWP cleared in the first quarter, while 47 requests were approved for the second quarter.

The approvals were granted following a review process to determine if suitably qualified Nigerians were available to fill the roles. The NCDMB, established to enforce the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, says it only issues such approvals when the required skills are unavailable locally.

Meanwhile, 153 EQ requests were rejected in Q1, and another 166 were denied in Q2, bringing total rejections to 319. This signals a more stringent approach to safeguarding local jobs. Only five TWP requests were denied within the same timeframe, three in the first quarter and two in the second.

The clampdown on expatriate roles aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s strategic push to ramp up local content in the petroleum industry to 70 per cent, up from the current 56 per cent.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has consistently reiterated that Nigeria must grow indigenous capacity to create jobs and retain value locally.

The Nigerian oil and gas industry continues to be a major destination for expatriate labour, especially in specialised technical areas such as offshore engineering, drilling, subsea operations, and digital geoscience. However, this reliance is gradually being reduced through deliberate local content policies.

The NCDMB has been instrumental in enforcing the guidelines, particularly on expatriate quotas and skill transfer programmes.

The NCDMB Executive Secretary, Felix Ogbe, in the magazine highlighted the achievements, stating, “Prior to the NOGICD Act, the situation was quite abysmal. The level of Nigerian Content in the oil and gas sector was less than five per cent because the focus was on revenue derivation from the oil and gas sector over in-country value creation.”

He disclosed that conservative estimates indicate Nigeria’s economy experienced a capital flight of approximately $380bn during the first 50 years of oil production, along with missed opportunities to generate over two million jobs.

“As a result, nearly all fabrication, engineering, and procurement for the oil and gas industry were executed abroad. Conservative estimates suggest that Nigeria’s national economy suffered capital flight of about $380bn in the first 50 years of oil production and lost opportunities to create over two million jobs. The nation also missed out on opportunities to catalyse research and development, manufacturing, and support services.”

“To change this highly unsatisfactory reality, NCDMB has since 2010 worked collaboratively with other entities and stakeholders to grow the local content level in the oil and gas sector to 56 per cent as of February 2025. In the process, over 50,000 jobs have been created, 13,000 training man-hours delivered through capacity development programmes, in addition to countless other projects and opportunities. One of such projects is the ongoing $5bn Nigeria LNG Train 7 project, 50 per cent of which is being executed locally, employing over 8,300 Nigerians.”

Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, has said recent presidential directives on oil and gas projects have not weakened the Nigerian Content Act, but rather reinforced its core objectives.

Speaking in response to concerns that the directives may sideline provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, Verheijen said the policy shift was aimed at clarifying and strengthening the intent of the law by prioritising genuine value addition over rent-seeking.

“I think it’s done the opposite,” she said. “What the directives have done is to clarify the intent of the Nigerian Content Act, to ensure that we truly support and focus on building genuine capacity.”

According to her, the directives help ensure that companies making real investments in infrastructure, human capital, and employment of Nigerians are given priority.

“It has ensured that people who have made or are making real investments in infrastructure, in human capacity development of Nigerians, and in employment of Nigerians, those who are adding value and retaining that value in-country to grow our economy are supported,” she said.

Verheijen also stressed that the policy was designed to reduce the influence of entities that contribute little value but drive up project costs.

“It is also about taking out the rent seekers who, to be honest, don’t add much value. All they do is add significant cost premiums, which have negatively impacted our competitiveness as an investment destination,” she added.

The presidential aide said the administration remained committed to local content growth but would not support practices that inflate costs or hinder Nigeria’s attractiveness to investors.