The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board has called on major oil and gas stakeholders, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, to ramp up in-country production and utilisation of line pipes in the oil and gas sector.
It said the move is aimed at deepening local content, conserving foreign exchange, and creating jobs in the oil and gas industry.
A press release issued by the board said the call was made at a stakeholders’ workshop held at the Nigerian Content Tower, Yenagoa, which had in attendance industry leaders from the Oil Producers Trade Section, Independent Petroleum Producers Group, NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services, pipe manufacturers, and pipe coaters.
The stakeholders reportedly reviewed the progress made since 2011 and explored ways to enhance local manufacturing.
Nigeria has an installed network of pipelines, totalling over 5,120km in length, to facilitate crude supply to the refineries and product evacuation from them.
But a decline in domestic production and the shift to fuel imports led to the neglect of many NNPC depots, causing the country to increasingly rely on private tank farms and road tankers for the supply and distribution of products.
In his opening remarks, NCDMB Executive Secretary Felix Ogbe described line pipes as a crucial component of oil and gas operations.
Ogbe, who was represented by the Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, Abdulmalik Halilu, emphasized that the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010, mandates 100 per cent local manufacturing of line pipes, both seamless and welded.
Ogbe described line pipes as “a major driver in oil and gas industry operations,” adding, “without line pipes, you cannot evacuate products.”
According to Ogbe, policies introduced by the NCDMB have positioned Nigeria to retain significant revenue and create jobs through local line pipe production, but collaboration with industry players is essential for meaningful progress.
The NCDMB’s Director of Capacity Building, Dr Ama Ikuru, stressed the importance of made-in-Nigeria line pipes, describing them as a cornerstone of Nigeria’s industrial development and a key requirement of the NOGICD Act and the Presidential Executive Order on Local Content.
He noted that increasing local production would help cut costs, eliminate middlemen markups, and strengthen Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
“Made-in-Nigeria line pipes are a reputation driver for the NOGICD Act and are central to the attainment of the 70 per cent objective of NCDMB’s [Nigerian Content] 10-Year Strategic Road Map.”
Ikuru pointed to major oil and gas infrastructure projects across the continent, such as the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline, the African Renaissance Pipeline, and the Transmed Gas Pipeline, which could provide markets for Nigerian-made line pipes under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
To drive local production, Ogbe posed key questions to industry players, including whether Nigeria should continue to focus on line pipe manufacturing, what infrastructure and investment incentives are required, and which policies would be most effective.
The statement noted that the workshop concluded with a renewed commitment from stakeholders to address the barriers hindering in-country manufacturing, with a shared goal of positioning Nigeria as a leading hub for line pipe production in Africa.
