Two of Nigeria’s most prominent oil developments, the Egina deepwater project and the Ikike shallow-water project, have emerged as defining proof that Nigerian engineers, contractors, and service providers can deliver complex oil and gas projects to international standards, TotalEnergies has said.
Speaking at the 9th Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2026) in Abuja on Monday, the Deputy General Manager, Nigerian Content, TotalEnergies Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd, Cyprian Ojum, said both projects reflect a deliberate shift from compliance-only participation to real industrial capability.
Ojum made the remarks during a high-level panel session titled “Performance-Driven Local Content under Nigeria’s PIA,” a core component of NIES 2026’s programme focusing on “Empowering Local Services, African Entrepreneurs and Multinational Partnerships.”
“We are not talking about ticking a compliance checkbox. We are talking about having a deliberate plan that starts from project design and ends with measurable value retained in Nigeria,” he told a packed audience of industry leaders and captains of industry.
Ojum described the initiative as a strategic turning point in Nigeria’s local content journey, noting that Egina stands out not only for its scale but also for how its execution accelerated local capacity development.
He emphasised that local content is not just about compliance but about building expertise and retaining value in-country, citing the Egina deepwater project as an example of successful capacity building and value creation.
“Beyond value retention, Sections 10, 27, 28, 29 and 30 of the Act emphasise training Nigerians and developing capacity. For us, performance-driven local content is anchored on capacity building.
“Take the Egina deepwater project as an example. Capacity development was deliberately built into the project through infrastructure investment. When LADOL and the Samsung–LADOL collaboration were referenced earlier, that speaks directly to TotalEnergies’ commitment. The largest FSO in Nigeria was delivered through this project.
“Within the Egina deepwater project alone, about 200 Nigerians were trained in critical skills that are actively deployed across the industry today, not only within TotalEnergies but also across other companies.
“Today, the Egina project contributes nearly 10 per cent of TotalEnergies’ global production. That level of impact underscores the scale of value created in Nigeria,” he said.
He explained that TotalEnergies’ approach is built on three pillars: targeted human capacity development aligned with industry needs and sustainability; deliberate value retention through local content creation; and collaboration with local contractors and the NCDMB to meet and exceed local content thresholds, all aimed at strengthening Nigerian capabilities and driving economic prosperity.
According to Ojum, Egina was not merely about facilities; it was about human development. While Egina demonstrated industrial capacity, the Ikike project, a shallow-water development, showed that Nigerians could lead execution across the full life cycle of a field development.
He noted, “The Ikike project achieved about 95 per cent Nigerian content. That is not symbolic. It is proof that Nigerian contractors and engineers can deliver world-class projects when capacity has been built over time.”
Ojum stressed that Ikike’s success was built on earlier gains from Egina, particularly in fabrication, procurement, and on-site execution. “Projects like Ikike show that once capacity is developed, it compounds. You don’t start from zero every time. You build, you learn, and you improve.”
SOURCE: PUNCH NEWS PAPER
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