ABUJA — Nigeria and the Republic of Congo are strengthening cooperation in the petroleum sector, with the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, calling for deeper intra-African collaboration to enhance energy security, build indigenous capacity and accelerate economic growth.

Lokpobiri made the call when he received the Congolese Minister of Hydrocarbons, Stev Simplice Onanga, who led a delegation to Nigeria to understudy the country’s local content framework and explore areas that could be adapted to strengthen Congo’s petroleum industry.

In a statement signed by the minister’s Special Adviser, Nneamaka Okafor, Lokpobiri described the engagement as a practical example of African countries learning from one another and adapting successful experiences to their own circumstances.

“Congo trying to learn from Nigeria is a welcome development, and it is one of the ways African countries can strengthen energy security on the continent when we learn from each other and leverage it to grow the continent’s capacity,” he said.

Lokpobiri said Africa’s energy challenges required solutions grounded in the continent’s realities, with countries leveraging their experiences, technical expertise and resources for the collective development of the energy sector.

He cited Nigeria’s local content initiatives as an example of how deliberate policies to increase indigenous participation could transform the petroleum industry.

The minister noted the growing involvement of Nigerian companies across the upstream, midstream and downstream segments of the oil and gas value chain, saying increased indigenous participation had created opportunities for technology transfer, skills development and knowledge sharing.

He added that collaboration between Nigerian companies and international operators had facilitated the exchange of ideas and enabled Nigerian businesses and professionals to acquire expertise that could contribute to wider industry development.

On his part, Onanga stressed the importance of local content in ensuring that petroleum resources translate into broader economic opportunities for citizens and businesses.

He said the development of local enterprises, employment opportunities, training and skills transfer remained critical to ensuring that Congo’s petroleum resources delivered sustainable benefits to the wider economy.

Lokpobiri reaffirmed Nigeria’s readiness to share its experience and lessons from the development of its local content framework with other African oil-producing countries.

He said stronger intra-African cooperation would help countries build indigenous capacity, retain greater value from their natural resources and strengthen collective energy security.