Oil and gas is the biggest single buyer of freight, clearing, warehousing and haulage in Nigeria. It is also the hardest sector to get into, and not because the work is harder. The work is ordinary. The door is the hard part.
There is a law about who gets the work, several separate registers you must be on, several permits you must hold, and a bidding process with its own rules. Miss any one of them and you are not rejected, you are simply never invited. This page explains the whole thing in plain English, and gives you a free check on whether your company is actually ready.
Start with the one rule that explains everything else
Nigerian law says this industry must use Nigerian companies, Nigerian people and Nigerian goods wherever it reasonably can. That is called local content.
It is not a suggestion or a preference. It sits in an Act of the National Assembly, it has a regulator with real powers, and it has a definition attached that decides whether you are inside the rule or outside it.
The definition
A Nigerian company is a company registered in Nigeria under the Companies and Allied Matters Act with not less than 51% of its shares owned by Nigerians.
Everything else follows from that one line. If your company meets it, the law says you must be given first consideration for the work, meaning an operator has to look at you before it looks at a foreign company for the same job. If it does not, you are competing for whatever is left over.
Two things this does not mean. It does not mean foreign companies are banned: they work here every day, usually alongside a Nigerian partner. And it does not mean a Nigerian company is handed the job. First consideration means you get looked at first, not that you win. You still have to be genuinely capable, and the checking is thorough.
The four gates
These come in order. There is no way to skip one and come back to it, and the whole sequence takes months rather than weeks.
1
Be the right kind of companyOwnership and paperwork
The law gives first choice to companies that are majority owned by Nigerians. Before anything else, your company has to fit that description and be able to prove it.
2
Get on the listsDatabases and prequalification
Operators do not go looking for suppliers. They search two national databases and invite the companies already sitting in the right category. If you are not in there, you are invisible.
3
Hold the permitsRegulators
Several different bodies each issue their own permit, and a tender will ask for all of them at once. Most take weeks, some take months, and none can be rushed at the end.
4
Win the workTendering
Only now do you get invited to bid. Technical proposal in one envelope, prices in another, scored separately, and the technical one is scored first.
The mistake almost everybody makes is treating gates two and three as something you do when a tender appears. By then it is far too late. A tender gives you days. These take months.
Is your company actually ready to bid?
Tick everything you genuinely have right now, in your hand, current and not expired. Be honest with yourself here, because the evaluators will not be generous on your behalf. Nothing you tick leaves your device.
Your company
Registrations and permits
Money
Safety and quality
People
Track record and cover
Every register and permit, and what each one is for
Different bodies, different portals, different renewal dates. This is the part nobody explains in one place.
Company registration
Who runs it: Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)
Who needs it: Everyone
Your certificate of incorporation, plus the forms showing who owns the shares and who the directors are. In the oil industry these two forms are asked for by name, because they are how anyone checks the ownership split.
Watch out Keep certified true copies. Photocopies of photocopies get rejected.
Tax clearance
Who runs it: Federal Inland Revenue Service
Who needs it: Everyone
A certificate showing your company has paid its taxes. Tenders almost always ask for the last three years, not just the current one.
Watch out A company less than three years old is at a disadvantage here, and there is no way around it.
Pension and social insurance
Who runs it: PenCom and NSITF
Who needs it: Everyone with staff
Proof you are paying into the national pension scheme and the workers' compensation fund. Also used as evidence of how many people you really employ.
Watch out Compliance certificates expire yearly. Diary the renewal.
Industry service permit
Who runs it: Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC)
Who needs it: Anyone supplying goods or services to upstream oil and gas
The basic licence to trade in this sector at all, applied for online. It comes in three levels: General for simple supplies, Major for skilled work, and Specialised for complex operations such as marine services, drilling support and pipeline work. You list the exact services you want the permit to cover.
Watch out It expires on the anniversary of the date it was issued, so renew it early. A permit that lapsed last month disqualifies you today.
The industry capability database
Who runs it: Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), through the NOGIC JQS portal
Who needs it: Every company that wants to be considered for work
A national record of who can do what. It is where the board checks your capability, and it is the gateway to the board's certificates.
Watch out This is the register the local content rules are enforced through. Being absent from it is not a small gap.
Equipment and capability certificate
Who runs it: NCDMB
Who needs it: Companies bidding with equipment or facilities
A certificate confirming you genuinely own or can provide the equipment, facility or service you are claiming. The board inspects the facility in person before issuing it. Construction and moveable equipment above a value threshold falls into its own category.
Watch out Allow for a physical inspection visit, then about fifteen working days after that visit. Start it well before the tender, not during it.
The upstream tendering exchange
Who runs it: The industry's joint qualification system
Who needs it: Anyone who wants to see and bid for upstream tenders
The shared prequalification database the operators use. You register, choose the product and service categories that match what you do, and get assessed against them. Tenders are then published to the companies already qualified in that category.
Watch out Choosing your categories carelessly is a common and expensive mistake. Categories decide which invitations you will ever see.
Customs agent licence
Who runs it: Nigeria Customs Service
Who needs it: Anyone clearing cargo
Only a licensed agent may file a customs declaration. If you do not hold the licence yourself, a tender will expect a formal arrangement with somebody who does.
Watch out The same applies to a bonded warehouse: either hold the licence or hold a written agreement with an owner.
Marine and vessel approvals
Who runs it: Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA)
Who needs it: Anyone moving cargo by vessel within Nigerian waters
Carrying goods between two points inside the country is reserved by law for vessels that are Nigerian built, owned, registered and crewed. Where no qualifying vessel exists, you apply for a waiver, which is granted case by case and comes with conditions such as training Nigerian cadets.
Watch out Waivers are not automatic and are being enforced more tightly. Never price a job assuming one.
Product regulators
Who runs it: Standards, food and drug, plant and environment agencies
Who needs it: Depends entirely on what you are shipping
Chemicals, food, equipment, radioactive sources and electronics each answer to a different agency, and most of their certificates have to be obtained in the exporting country before the goods load.
Watch out This is the single most common cause of a shipment being stuck. See the Documentation Toolkit for which agency applies to what.
The document pack
Build this once, keep it current, and store it where two people can find it. The same bundle answers most registrations and most tenders, and assembling it under deadline pressure is how mistakes get in.
Certificate of incorporationPlus the two forms showing shareholding and directors.
Memorandum and articles of associationYour company's founding documents.
Tax clearance certificatesThe last three years, not just this one.
Pension and social insurance complianceCurrent certificates, showing your real headcount.
Audited financial statementsThree years, signed by a registered auditor.
Bank reference or guarantee undertakingA letter from your bank saying it will stand behind you.
Company profileWho you are, where you operate, what you have done.
Organisation chartWith names, roles, reporting lines and who talks to the client.
Key personnel CVsReal people with relevant qualifications, not padding.
Evidence of past contractsThree years of similar work, ideally for oil and gas clients.
Health and safety certificates and policyPlus your safety statistics for the past three years.
Insurance policiesPlaced in Nigeria, and relevant to the actual service.
Quality proceduresHow you check your own work.
Local content policyA written statement of how you develop Nigerian people and suppliers.
Human rights and working conditions policyIncreasingly asked for, and increasingly audited.
Training and capacity development planHow you build skills, with evidence you actually do it.
Operational locationsOffices, yards or warehouses near where the work is, or a written arrangement with somebody who has them.
One sheet is worth more than the folder. Keep a single list of every certificate you hold, its number, who issued it, and the date it expires. Check it once a month. An expired certificate discovered on submission day has ended more bids than any competitor ever has.
How the bidding actually works
An operator publishes an invitation to tender, usually to companies already prequalified in that category. You submit two separate proposals: a technical one saying how you will do the job, and a commercial one with your prices. They are opened and scored separately, and the technical one comes first. A brilliant price cannot rescue a weak method statement, because nobody sees the price until the method has already been marked.
What is scored
Typical weight
What they are really asking
Technical
50 to 70%
Can you actually do the job? Equipment, method, timeline, documentation capability, and how you handle things going wrong. Scored before anybody looks at your price.
Commercial
30 to 40%
Not just the lowest number. Total cost including everything, how clear your inclusions and exclusions are, your payment terms and how long the price stands.
Compliance and past performance
10 to 20%
Your record on similar work, your regulatory standing, and whether you answered every question in the pack. This is the cheapest section to score well in and the most commonly thrown away.
The part bidders underrate. A large share of the technical score is not your method at all. It is your safety statistics, your organisation chart, the CVs of your people, your training plan, your insurance, your local content policy and your evidence of past contracts. Those marks are sitting there waiting to be collected, they require no cleverness, and companies leave them behind every week.
The money rules people miss
A levy on the contract itself
Upstream contracts carry a levy calculated on the total contract sum and deducted at source, which funds local capability development. It is a real cost and it belongs in your price.
Bigger contracts get more scrutiny
Above a value threshold, the content regulator reviews the tender documents, sits in on the evaluation, and approves the outcome before an award can be made. This adds weeks and it is why award dates slip.
You fund the work first
Payment terms are long and pass-through costs are paid by you before anyone reimburses you. Work out what that costs in interest, and price it, before you decide the job is profitable.
Commitments cost money to keep
Before award, a successful bidder signs up to specific local content targets. Training, employment and local sourcing all cost, and a bid priced as though they do not is a bid that wins and then bleeds.
Three situations with their own extra rules
Moving cargo by sea inside the countryCabotage
Carrying goods between two Nigerian points is reserved for vessels that are Nigerian built, owned, registered and crewed. Where no qualifying vessel exists you can apply for a waiver, granted case by case, often with conditions such as training Nigerian cadets. Enforcement has tightened. Never price a job on the assumption that a waiver will come.
Bringing equipment in for one jobTemporary admission
Rigs, vessels, cranes and specialised machinery can come in without paying import duty if they are going back out, but only against a permit and a bank guarantee for the full tax. It takes months, not weeks.
Chemicals, food, electronics, radioactive sources and pressure equipment each answer to a different agency, and most of their certificates must be issued in the exporting country before loading. After the ship sails they cannot be obtained at any price.
Starting the registrations when the tender landsThe permits and prequalifications take weeks to months. A tender gives you days. Everything in the second and third gate has to be finished before you are invited, not after.
Prequalifying in the wrong categoriesIf your category on the tendering exchange does not match the work, you never even see the invitation. People spend years wondering why no tenders arrive.
Letting one certificate lapseA single expired permit can disqualify a complete bid that took three weeks to write. Keep one sheet with every certificate, its number, its issuer and its expiry date, and check it monthly.
Answering the scope and ignoring the questionsA large part of the technical score is policies, plans, charts and CVs. Many bidders write a beautiful method statement and leave a third of the marks on the table.
Claiming equipment you do not controlCapability certificates involve a physical inspection, and references get called. Claiming a yard or a fleet you do not have is how companies get blacklisted rather than just rejected.
Pricing without the local content and levy costsContracts in this sector carry a levy on the contract value, and local content commitments cost real money to keep. A bid priced as if these do not exist wins and then loses money.
Winning without the cash to performPayment terms are long and you fund the work first. More companies are damaged by a contract they could not fund than by one they did not win.
The words, in plain English
Upstream
Finding and producing oil and gas. Downstream is refining and selling it. Most of the strict rules on this page belong to upstream.
Operator
The company that runs an oil field. It buys the services and awards the contracts.
E and P company
Exploration and Production company. Another way of saying an operator.
IOC
International Oil Company. A large foreign owned operator working in the country.
Local content
The law and policy requiring the industry to use Nigerian companies, Nigerian people and Nigerian made goods wherever it reasonably can.
First consideration
The rule that a qualifying Nigerian company must be looked at first, before a foreign one, for the same work.
ITT
Invitation To Tender. The pack of documents inviting you to bid, containing the scope, the rules and the deadline.
Two envelope bidding
You submit your technical proposal and your prices separately. The technical one is opened and scored first, so a cheap price cannot rescue a weak method.
Prequalification
Being checked and approved as capable of a category of work, before any particular job exists.
JQS
Joint Qualification System. A shared database of approved suppliers that the whole industry searches.
Scope of work
The written description of exactly what the contractor has to do. Read it three times, because everything else is priced from it.
HSE
Health, Safety and Environment. In this industry it is scored, audited and capable of disqualifying you on its own.
Cabotage
The rule reserving transport between two points inside a country for that country's own vessels.
Sole source
Awarding a contract to one company without a competition. Allowed only in limited circumstances and closely watched.
Tap a heading to read it.
If you are starting from nothing
A realistic order, assuming you already have a registered company and some track record in ordinary freight.
Months one and two. Fix the ownership question if it needs fixing, because nothing else matters until it is settled. Get the tax certificates current for three years. Get the pension and social insurance compliance certificates. Get the accounts audited.
Months two and three. Apply for the upstream service permit, listing exactly the services you intend to bid for. Register on the national capability database. Write the policies: safety, quality, local content, human rights, training. Written policies are cheap and they are scored.
Months three to six. Prequalify on the tendering exchange, and take real care choosing your categories. Get your capability or equipment certificate if you will be claiming equipment or a facility. Build the document pack properly and keep it in one place.
Throughout. Collect evidence. Every job you finish is a reference for the next bid, and evidence is the one thing on this page that cannot be bought, borrowed or accelerated.
The honest bit
Two of the requirements on this page cannot be met quickly by anybody: three years of trading history, and three years of safety statistics. If you do not have them, the useful move is to work as a subcontractor to a company that does, do it well, and build the record while you wait. Companies that try to shortcut this get found out at the inspection stage, and being caught is far worse than being early.
How to read a tender pack
Read the scope of work three times before you read anything else. Everything you price comes from it, and the second reading always finds something the first one missed.
Make a list of every single thing they ask for. Not the interesting things. Every one. Then mark each as have, can get, or cannot get. That list is your bid plan and it usually takes an hour.
Answer in their order, using their words. Evaluators score with a sheet in front of them. Make it easy to find your answer and you will score better than a bidder who wrote something more impressive in a different order.
Ask questions early. There is normally a clarification window. Questions asked on the last day rarely get answered in time, and an assumption you had to make is a risk you have to price.
Say what is not included. A clear exclusions list is scored as transparency, not weakness. A silent one becomes an argument after award, and you lose those.
Never bid a price you cannot fund. Work out how much cash the job needs before payment arrives, and how many months it will be out. If the answer frightens you, the job is too big, and there is no shame in that.
The one sentence version
Getting into oil and gas is not about knowing somebody. It is about being genuinely qualified before the opportunity appears, because the opportunity never waits.
This is a general explanation, not advice on your company or your bid. Requirements, thresholds, fees and processes are set by several different bodies and they change. Nothing here comes from any particular company's tender. Use this to understand the shape of the sector, then confirm the current position directly with each regulator and, where the sums are large, with a lawyer.
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