The Executive Director of TotalEnergies Nigeria, Obi Imemba, has called on the Federal Government to shift its focus from percentage-based targets to maximizing net value retention in implementing the local content law in the oil and gas sector.

Imemba made the call on Wednesday during a panel session at the 2025 Practical Nigerian Content event organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in Yenagoa. The conference had the theme “Securing Investments, Strengthening Local Content, and Scaling Production.”

While NCDMB Executive Secretary, Engr. Felix Ogbe, recently announced that Nigeria had achieved 61 per cent local content with a target of 70 per cent by 2027, Imemba argued that discussions should now prioritise real value for the country rather than fixed percentage benchmarks.

His words: “So for me, in this area, what I can advance for, or what my company can advance for, is net value retention for the country. So you need to find a balance… we should move from where we say it has to be 70% or 90% or 100% to start talking about value. Which one… what are we going to do to give us the maximum net value retention for Nigeria? That’s where we need to go. I think we are not yet there. Today, we’re still at that prescriptive level.”

Highlighting TotalEnergies’ contributions in the past decade, Imemba noted that the company had made two major investments, including the 200,000 barrels-per-day Agila FPSO.

He also listed investments in Ladol Yard in Lagos, Avion Yard in Port Harcourt, FMC Yard in Omni, and the Ikike Project as examples of its commitment to strengthening local capacity.

According to him, TotalEnergies has been the most dynamic operator in the industry in the last year.

“We’ve been the most active and dynamic in terms of reshaping our portfolio. That is intentional. What we are doing is focusing on consolidating and accelerating investment and development in our operating portfolio,” he said.