Local Content Policies

Investigating the contribution of international oil companies (IOCs) toward local content development (LCD) in Yemen oil and gas (O&G) industry with a focus on supply chain (SC) perspectives. Background: Two competing schools of thoughts one arguing for another one arguing against have fronted their points regarding the place of local content policies (LCPs) in the modern era, especially in the mining industry. There is need to ascertain the convincing alternative and where Yemen stands regarding these competing opinions. Methods: This was a qualitative study that employed face-to-face interview in gathering the primary data. The study setting was Yemen while the data obtained was analysed thematically in agreement with scholarly support for the analysis method for qualitative data. Results: The study involved 15 participants sampled from local suppliers, government officials, supply chain management (SCM), and IOCs staffs. Findings indicated there is majority agreement for benefits and importance of having LCPs in Yemen, although such policies have not been established. Conclusion: The government of Yemen (GoY) holds the key to the success and the degree of IOCs contribution to LCD. Without these policies in place, the IOCs contribution cannot be challenged legally leaving it to be more of part of the corporate social responsibility (CSR).