Reported by Ali Elias
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has called for accelerated implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) within the oil and gas sector, declaring that deeper intra-African trade, industrial capacity integration and technology collaboration are essential to unlocking the continent’s energy future.
This position formed the thrust of the keynote address delivered on behalf of the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, by Dr. Abdulmalik Halilu, Director of Corporate Services and Logistics, at the Nigerian Content AfCFTA Energy Summit held at Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The summit, organised by NCDMB in partnership with Hydrodive, RusselSmith, and other industry stakeholders, convened policymakers, investors, regulators, financial institutions and energy operators from across Africa to chart practical pathways for implementing AfCFTA within the oil and gas value chain.
From Policy to Practice in Africa’s Energy Trade
Delivering the keynote titled “Application of AfCFTA in the Oil and Gas Industry,” Halilu said the continental trade framework represents a strategic instrument for transforming Africa from a fragmented energy marketplace into an integrated industrial ecosystem.
He explained that AfCFTA, rooted in the African Union’s Agenda 2063 vision, was designed to promote regional integration through trade expansion, innovation and the free movement of capital and labour.
“Nigeria’s oil and gas industry embraced AfCFTA and developed a framework for domesticating the policy in 2022,” he said, adding that implementation has been structured around three strategic pillars — opportunity identification, capacity development and capacity exportation.
According to him, Nigeria’s strengths lie in its established oilfield services supply chain, expanding refining capacity, logistics infrastructure, gas pipeline network and large pool of skilled technical workforce.
Local Content as Foundation for Export Capacity
Halilu noted that Nigeria’s local content policy has already built substantial industrial capabilities across the value chain, including marine asset ownership, fabrication, equipment assembly and installation of production systems.
“These capabilities position Nigeria not only as a service hub but as a continental exporter of expertise, equipment and industrial capacity,” he said.
He described capacity exportation as the next frontier for African energy cooperation, stressing that AfCFTA must enable Nigerian-made products and services to compete across African markets under preferential trade conditions.
He posed critical questions to policymakers and industry players, including how Nigerian-manufactured subsea cables could access Angolan markets, how oilfield equipment manufacturers could meet rules-of-origin requirements for exports, and how African shipyards could be designated regional industrial hubs.
Halilu also highlighted the strategic implications of continental infrastructure developments, including expanded refining capacity, cross-border gas pipelines and industrial parks, noting that these assets must be integrated into a unified African supply chain system.
Summit Targets Regulatory Alignment and Trade Facilitation
The summit’s deliberations focused on mobilising regulatory agencies, financial institutions and industry operators to accelerate practical implementation of AfCFTA in the energy sector.
Key areas of engagement included: Deepening intra-African trade opportunities in energy services and equipment, developing unified standards for professional certification and manufactured goods, expanding technology development and innovation, strengthening measurement frameworks for assessing AfCFTA’s impact on Africa’s balance of trade, clarifying customs processes for rules-of-origin certification.
Halilu expressed confidence that the calibre of participants would generate actionable outcomes capable of shaping the future of African energy trade.
Industry Stakeholders Emphasise Urgency of Implementation
The summit featured goodwill messages from leading industry voices, including Engr. Falade Adegbite, Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG); Mr. Wole Ogunsanya, Chairman of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN); Mazi Sam Onyechi of the Oil and Gas Traders Association of Nigeria (OGTAN); and Patricia Simon-Hart, representating the Women in Energy Network.
In a policy-focused session on regulation and trade, speakers from the National AfCFTA Coordination Office, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission and NCDMB examined the framework’s evolving implementation architecture.
Describing AfCFTA as “a market-shaping agent,” Nwokedi Ifeanyi Joseph, representative of AFCFTA Nigeria’s coordination office, emphasised its potential to transform Africa into a globally competitive production base.
However, industry participants also highlighted persistent barriers to effective implementation, particularly around cross-border mobility and logistics.
Speaking during a technical panel on African energy trade corridors, George Onafowokan, Managing Director of Coleman Wires and Cables, warned that structural bottlenecks could undermine the agreement’s impact.
“If we do not solve the barriers militating against movement of goods and movement of people across borders, AfCFTA would remain just a piece of paper,” he said, emphatically.
Financing and Regional Integration Take Centre Stage
Another major session examined financing pathways for AfCFTA implementation, with participation from the African Export-Import Bank, African Energy Investment Corporation, Bank of Industry, NEXIM Bank and Sierra Leone’s Petroleum Directorate.
Stakeholders emphasised the importance of patient capital, regional financing mechanisms and risk-sharing frameworks to support infrastructure development and industrial expansion across African energy markets.
The summit built on earlier engagements, including a pre-summit webinar on meeting AfCFTA rules-of-origin requirements for energy trade.
A Continental Market in View
With Africa representing a market of approximately 1.4 billion people and a combined GDP of about $3 trillion, Halilu stressed that AfCFTA provides a historic opportunity to reposition the continent from a raw-material exporter to an integrated industrial producer.
“Africa must leverage its vast mineral and hydrocarbon resources for domestic manufacturing of critical energy equipment rather than exporting raw materials,” he said.
He concluded that successful implementation of AfCFTA within the oil and gas sector would strengthen energy security, deepen industrialisation and enhance regional prosperity.