Welcome to Menas'
Local Content Online
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Please note that this site will no longer be updated by Menas
Associates.
Until the end of 2009 this was a subscription based service but it is now
available as a free resource for anyone who is interested in the service.
However, in order to access it in full you will be required to register which
you can
do here.
Although it is not being updated we hope that you find the site of use.
If you would like further information about Local Content requirements in any
particular country we are able to provide such information on a consultancy
basis.
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Interest in local content and national content is being driven by a number of
converging factors. With renewed attention being paid to issues such as
transparency in the oil and gas sector, the need to combat the "Dutch
Disease,"
and sustainability generally, resource rich nations are starting to take
seriously the need to adjust their relationships with international companies
so
as to
transfer the benefits of those resources to their citizens.
But those companies too are looking to improve their local content policies. In
part, this is because pressure, both informal and (increasingly) formalised, in
the form of legislation, guidelines, and standard contract terms, demands that
local content programs go beyond philanthropy and the hiring of manual labour.
Internally, there are also drivers. A well-planned and conscientiously
implemented local content strategy may bring direct economic benefits, not only
in
terms
of reducing the costs of labour, goods or services, but as a means of
differentiation in a competitive market, of forging relationships with
stakeholders,
and
even hedging against political change.
Clearly, while often presented as a "win-win", there are also
challenges
for everyone involved. Governments may set targets that are too ambitious,
in
the light of actual capacity within a given country or region. Or
legislation may
be
so broad and ill-defined that foreign companies are left unsure as
to
what a
host government really requires.
Sometimes, also, companies are tempted to pay lip-service to local content,
funding development or health projects but doing little to confer the knowledge
and
skills required to actually increase capacity within the host country. Local
contractors are sometimes left with the sensation of being patronized by IOCs
or
others who are unwilling to contract projects large enough to justify
investment
in the technology and skills necessary to begin competing nationally,
regionally,
or globally.
This online resource is intended to be of benefit to IOCs, oil and gas service
companies, lawyers and other service providers, and also regulators or
ministries who may be wishing to see how their policies, laws or guidelines
stack up
against others. We don't yet claim that it is comprehensive, but to assist in
the
mission of it becoming so, we would very much value input, suggestions
(even
criticism) from any party with an interest in local content, skills
transfer,
capacity building, human resources and related issues.
Subscribers can also access a wealth of information from our local content resources database, stored in the Menas e-library. The database contains legal documents, reports
and presentations from all
sections of the hydrocarbon industry on issues
pertaining to local content in
the
countries we cover.