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The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has said that the Nigerian International Energy Summit (NIES) has achieved its core objective of fostering collaboration across Africa’s oil, gas and broader energy industry.
Abdulmalik Alilu, Representative of the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, stated this while speaking at the summit, noting that the gathering has created a platform for African countries and industry players to interact, network and structure viable projects.
“So what was the objective? To bring the African oil and gas or energy industry together. That has been achieved,” Mr Alilu said.
He said the presence of National Oil Companies (NOCs), policymakers, and service providers had helped deepen discussions on project development and local content implementation.
“Deal structuring is very important. If you don’t have enough funnel of projects, then you cannot be talking about local content,” he said. “So the ability for NOCs to even meet and decide on projects is also very remarkable.”
Mr Alilu said the summit was conceived as an African-owned alternative to international energy conferences where African countries often participate individually rather than collectively.
“Okay, I think NIS has achieved its objective. The original thought process around NIS was when you go to OTC( Offshore Technology Conference), you see the African countries going there, so why don’t we create our own platform?” he said.
“So again, Dr Ebekachukwu conceived the idea, and you can see that successfully it’s been followed.”
He also stated the importance of dedicating a full day at the summit to local content discussions, describing it as a major step in promoting domiciliation and intra-African business partnerships.
“And then giving us a day, local content, is also very remarkable because what that means is that other African countries see the benefits of domiciliation in their own countries, exchanging cards, networking with our own service companies,” he said.
According to him, the initiative is expected to create business-to-business opportunities among African service providers across the energy value chain.
The summit will hold from February 2 to 5, 2026.
