The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), in partnership with Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, has launched a specialised 12-month capacity development programme to prepare 300 young Nigerian graduates for careers in the nation’s oil and gas industry

The NCDMB–Renaissance Oil and Gas Field Readiness Training Programme will provide participants with industry-relevant expertise in mechanical, electrical and instrumentation engineering, combining three months of intensive classroom instruction with nine months of structured on-the-job training at partner oil and gas service companies.

The programme has enrolled 300 beneficiaries, comprising 240 trainees in Lagos and 60 in Port Harcourt.

During the inauguration of the programme, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr Felix Omatsola Ogbe, said the initiative underscores the Board’s commitment to developing indigenous technical capacity, increasing Nigerian participation in the petroleum industry and supporting the country’s economic growth.

Represented by the Board’s Assistant Manager, Human Capacity Development, Tari Bufazi, Ogbe said the training would equip participants with practical experience and internationally recognised certifications needed to compete in the global energy industry.

“This is more than the commencement of a training programme. It is the beginning of a journey for young Nigerians who will acquire world-class skills in mechanical, instrumentation and electrical disciplines,” he said.

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According to him, specialised competencies in automation, instrumentation and engineering operations have become increasingly critical as Nigeria prepares for a new wave of investments in the oil and gas sector.

“Instrumentation, electrical and mechanical engineering are foundational to the survival, profitability and safety of the Nigerian oil and gas industry. This training is designed to close existing gaps and prepare participants for industry demands,” he added.

Ogbe urged the beneficiaries to seize the opportunity to develop themselves into innovators, problem-solvers and future leaders capable of driving the industry’s growth.

In the same vein, the General Manager, Nigerian Content Development at Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, Olarenwaju Lanre Olawuyi, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to building indigenous capabilities through sustained investments in human capital.

Represented by Funso Alabi, Olawuyi said the programme was deliberately structured to expose participants to both classroom learning and practical field experience across mechanical systems, electrical operations, instrumentation and control, software development, networking and cybersecurity.

He noted that the practical component would bridge the gap between academic knowledge and workplace expectations, enabling participants to acquire competencies increasingly sought after by employers.

“At Renaissance, we believe local content development must create real capability, strengthen indigenous expertise and empower Nigerians to lead,” he said.

He also reminded the trainees that technical competence alone would not guarantee success, stressing that professionalism, integrity, teamwork and a strong safety culture remain essential qualities in the oil and gas industry.

The Chief Executive Officer of Radial Circle, the programme’s lead training provider, Ranti Omole, disclosed that the beneficiaries emerged from a highly competitive selection process involving thousands of applicants drawn from the NCDMB database.

He said the objective of the initiative extends beyond issuing certificates, noting that the programme is designed to produce industry-ready professionals capable of making immediate contributions in operational environments.

“We are building competence and skills. By the time you complete this programme, you should be field-ready and able to fit seamlessly into industry operations,” Omole said.

He encouraged participants to remain disciplined, embrace continuous learning and leverage the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from different parts of the country.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has assured investors that Nigeria will continue to strengthen its legal and regulatory framework to provide certainty for investments in the country’s energy sector, building on the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

Lokpobiri gave the assurance at the just-concluded Lawyers in Energy International Conference 2026 organised by the Lawyers in Energy Network in Lagos.

He added that the Federal Government was committed to building a transparent, predictable and enforceable legal environment to support the country’s energy transition and sustain investor confidence.

Lokpobiri, represented by the Director of Legal Services in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Terlumun Tyendezwa, said Nigeria’s energy transition must be driven by laws and regulations that provide certainty for investors while supporting the country’s climate commitments.

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He said the Federal Government was determined to shape Nigeria’s energy transition on its own terms by ensuring that the sector operates within a transparent, predictable and enforceable legal framework.

According to him, the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has laid a solid legal foundation for the sector, while regulators have continued to develop rules that provide greater clarity for both upstream and downstream operators.

Lokpobiri stressed that legal certainty was indispensable to investment decisions, noting that sound policies alone would not attract capital unless they were backed by effective implementation.

“The energy sector must be governed by a framework that is transparent, predictable and enforceable. What this means in practice is that there is clarity in our legal framework,” he said.

He added that investor confidence depends on certainty created by law and regulation.

The minister noted that Nigeria had already demonstrated its commitment to climate action through the Climate Change Act and the establishment of a carbon credit framework.

According to him, these initiatives provide incentives for investors and assure businesses that Nigeria remains a stable destination for long-term investments.

He warned that decisions taken today by lawmakers, regulators and legal practitioners would shape Nigeria’s energy future for generations.

Lokpobiri reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to strengthening regulatory institutions, deepening stakeholder engagement and improving the country’s legal framework to protect investors, host communities and the public.

He urged participants at the conference to use the gathering to address difficult issues confronting the sector and contribute practical solutions for Nigeria’s energy future.

In his keynote address delivered virtually, the Secretary-General of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation, Farid Ghezali, said regulatory stability, fiscal clarity, contract sanctity, environmental standards and policy consistency had become as important as resource potential in attracting investment.

“The global energy transition has fundamentally changed how investors evaluate destinations, with regulatory stability, fiscal clarity, contract sanctity, environmental standards and policy consistency becoming as important as resource potential.

“In this new reality, geology is no longer enough,” said Ghezali, who described regulatory uncertainty as Africa’s biggest hidden tax and harmonisation as its biggest untapped incentive.

He said investors currently faced more than 50 different legal and regulatory systems across Africa’s petroleum industry, increasing transaction costs, delaying projects and diverting capital to regions with more predictable legal environments.

“Harmonisation does not remove sovereignty; it multiplies it. It turns individual efforts into continental strength,” he added.

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Lawyers in Energy Network, George Etomi, said lawyers would play a decisive role in helping countries achieve their 2060 net-zero targets through stronger legal and regulatory frameworks.

“As lawyers and energy professionals, we have a vital role to play in shaping the legal and regulatory architecture that will support sustainable investment, encourage innovation, manage disputes and promote responsible energy development,” Etomi said.

Founder and Executive Secretary of the Lawyers in Energy Network, Raqueebah Oloko, said the conference examined the legal and regulatory reforms required to help African countries navigate the global energy transition without sacrificing their development priorities.

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals (DPRP) protects the Nigerian market from external price shocks, maintaining stable domestic fuel prices within a commercially acceptable range despite rising international gasoline prices, higher freight rates and tightening global supply conditions that are increasing costs for fuel importers across West Africa.

The above was set out in the latest market intelligence from S&P Global Commodity Insights, Biztellers can report.

According to the latest market intelligence published by S&P Global Commodity Insights, importers supplying the Nigerian market are becoming increasingly concerned over the sharp rise in international gasoline prices, with traders attributing the pressure to higher global product values and rising shipping costs.

Significantly, market participants told S&P that gasoline prices in Nigeria are effectively being “capped by Dangote prices”, limiting the ability of importers to pass on higher international costs to the domestic market.

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One trader noted that while Ghanaian specification gasoline currently commands higher premiums, Nigerian specification cargoes remain constrained because the DPRP has kept its coastal sales prices unchanged despite mounting international price pressures.

“Lomé values have risen above Dangote sales prices, which has shut the arbitrage,” a trader was quoted as saying, highlighting that importing fuel into Nigeria has become increasingly uneconomic under prevailing market conditions.

The development comes against the backdrop of a sharp increase in global freight rates. According to S&P Global, the cost of transporting clean petroleum products from Northwest Europe to West Africa has risen from US$29.70 per metric tonne at the end of June to US$37.12 per metric tonne, as vessels reposition to serve alternative markets.

At the same time, diesel markets have tightened following reduced supplies of Russian Black Sea cargoes, pushing up prices for high sulphur gasoil across West Africa and further increasing import costs.

Despite these global pressures, Dangote Petroleum Refinery has continued its policy of gradual price moderation.

Since the end of May, the refinery has reduced the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) by more than N200 per litre, Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) by N300 per litre, and Jet A1 aviation fuel by N520 per litre, even while processing crude oil purchased when international prices were substantially higher than current levels.

The refinery has consistently maintained that petroleum product pricing is driven by actual crude procurement costs rather than daily movements in international Brent prices, noting that crude oil is acquired weeks or months before refining under commercial contracts linked to monthly average pricing mechanisms.

Industry analysts say the latest market developments further validate the strategic importance of domestic refining capacity in insulating Nigeria from external supply shocks.

With international product prices rising, freight costs increasing and regional trading hubs such as Lomé recording gasoline prices above those offered by Dangote Refinery, Nigeria’s dependence on imported fuel would likely have translated into significantly higher domestic pump prices had the refinery not been operating at scale.

The latest S&P assessment also reinforces Dangote Refinery’s growing influence on petroleum pricing in West Africa. Market participants increasingly view the refinery’s pricing as the regional benchmark, with importers finding it difficult to compete whenever international replacement costs exceed domestic refinery prices.

Analysts say the development illustrates one of the key objectives behind the establishment of the 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery: shielding Nigeria from global market disruptions, eliminating dependence on imports, conserving foreign exchange and providing greater price stability for consumers and businesses.

As geopolitical tensions, tighter product supplies and higher shipping costs continue to reshape global fuel markets, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is increasingly emerging not only as Nigeria’s primary source of refined petroleum products but also as a stabilising force for energy markets across West Africa.