US$50m Brentex facility aims to keep more energy projects in Nigeria
NCDMB says new Brentex facility could reduce imports, create skilled jobs and strengthen local manufacturing for the energy industry.
Nigeria’s push to keep more value from its oil and gas industry has received another boost with the development of a US$50 million steel pipe induction bending and coating facility that could significantly reduce the country’s dependence on imported pipeline engineering services.
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) says the Brentex Petroleum Services Limited facility, located at the Federal Ocean Terminal, Onne Port, Rivers State, represents a major step towards building local manufacturing capacity for one of the oil and gas industry’s most specialised services.
Once completed, the project is expected to become Africa’s first fully integrated facility capable of providing steel pipe induction bending, heat treatment, testing and coating services for pipes ranging from two inches to 48 inches. More than US$26 million has already been invested in the project, which is scheduled to begin full operations in the last quarter of 2027.
The investment reflects a broader shift in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, where policymakers are increasingly focused on ensuring that more engineering, manufacturing and technical services are delivered within the country rather than outsourced overseas.
For years, Nigeria’s local content policy has largely been associated with increasing the participation of indigenous companies in the oil and gas industry. Increasingly, however, the emphasis is shifting towards building factories, industrial infrastructure and technical capabilities that enable those companies to execute complex projects locally.
Speaking during a tour of the facility, NCDMB Executive Secretary, Felix Omatsola Ogbe, described the project as a practical demonstration of the Board’s drive to deepen in-country capacity and industrialisation.
Represented by the Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, Esueme Dan Kikile, Ogbe said the facility directly supports Nigeria’s ambition to retain more value within the economy while creating employment and strengthening the country’s position as an energy services hub.
“We have been on this journey with Brentex for over a decade. Today, we have seen what you are doing on the ground. That is exactly the objective of the equipment component manufacturing initiative of the NCDMB, in-country value addition, and you have remained steadfast,” he said.
He also assured the company that the Board would encourage industry operators to patronise the facility once operational.
“Whatever we can do to get the industry to patronise this investment, we will do because the industry must take advantage of what we have in-country.”
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The assurance highlights one of the biggest challenges facing local manufacturing projects in Nigeria. Building factories is only part of the equation. Sustained patronage from operators ultimately determines whether such investments become commercially viable.
Beyond manufacturing, the facility is expected to address another longstanding challenge in Nigeria’s energy industry: dependence on imported specialised pipeline services. According to Brentex, an estimated 95 percent of steel pipes used in major energy projects are currently imported or sent abroad for specialised induction bending, coating and repair.
Project Manager Patrick Anaje said the new facility would allow operators executing pipeline projects in Nigeria to access these services locally, reducing procurement delays, lowering costs and shortening project delivery timelines.
The company is already involved in the Ajaokuta Kaduna Kano (AKK) Natural Gas Pipeline project and expects the facility to support similar strategic energy infrastructure projects in the future.
The economic impact extends beyond cost savings. Local processing means more industry spending remains within Nigeria, supporting domestic suppliers, engineering firms and technical professionals while strengthening the country’s industrial base.
Brentex Managing Director Chidi Nzerem said the company intends to work with the NCDMB to develop structured training programmes after the facility receives certification.
He disclosed that the project is expected to create about 200 engineering and technical jobs while providing opportunities for skills development, technology transfer and capacity building. The long-term objective, he added, is for the facility to be operated entirely by trained Nigerian professionals.
The Brentex project also reflects how Nigeria’s local content agenda is evolving under the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, signed into law in 2010.
Since then, local content has grown from less than five percent to 61 percent, according to the NCDMB, driven by deliberate policies encouraging indigenous participation and domestic capacity development. Yet industry analysts note that sustaining this progress will depend less on announcing new projects and more on ensuring existing investments remain competitive and commercially utilised.
If operators consistently source specialised engineering services locally instead of relying on foreign facilities, projects such as Brentex could help reduce capital flight, accelerate project execution and strengthen Nigeria’s ambition of becoming a regional centre for oil and gas manufacturing.
For the NCDMB, that is the bigger objective. The Board wants local content to move beyond compliance targets and become the foundation for a stronger industrial economy where more of the value created by Nigeria’s energy resources stays within the country.
