A team of professionals from Mozambique's Petroleum Regulatory Authority - INP Instituto Nacional de Petroleo have completed a two-week "Advanced Local Content Frameworks' short course training at the University.
The programme was specially designed for the delegates and was delivered by staff from the Law and Business Schools, in a series of workshops, industry visits, group working and conference, which were organised by the University’s CPD Services. Delivery was by the Aberdeen University Centre for Energy & Resources (AUCEL). The course was delivered in both English and Portuguese.
The sessions provided delegates with deep knowledge of the local content, how it works and where it does not work. They also gained an understanding of the complex linkages between local content, oil and gas exploration and production, and national economy and the industrial landscape, as well as links between regulation, implementation and monitoring, relative to the local content agenda and interventions.
Local Content describes the range of policy objectives and programmes relating to the petroleum and mining sectors that are designed to develop, increase use and participation of local capacity, manpower, goods, services and supply chain, in order that over time more and more value is retained in-country from the extractive process and activities.
Professor Richard Wells, Vice Principal (International Partnerships), presented the group with certificates at the Oil and Minerals for Good: Mini-Conference, which took place on March 11.
Dr Mark Osa Igiehon, Fellow (Law) and Local Content Course Co-ordinator and Prof Tina Hunter led the delivery of the course. The ‘Local Content professional course’ delves deep into Local Content design, implementation and associated challenges. It adopts a framing approach so that the course delivered directly actionable output for the INP team. That way, the team would be able to apply advanced concepts and best practices to progress local content development for Mozambique.
In a novel collaboration, Abdulmalik Halilu, the chief of research at Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), was guest lecturer and articulated the evolution of NCDMB’s approach in becoming a leading regulator and facilitator of local content in the global extractives sector.
In their closing comments, the INP delegates remarked that the professional short course greatly exceeded their expectations and they look forward to future professional development programmes to be delivered by the University of Aberdeen.
AUCEL and Oil & Minerals for Good Global Forum, are planning other professional development courses for industry and governments to hold in September and October 2020 DV.