Ghana and Ivory Coast have an emerging oil and gas industry. Both countries aspire to strengthen the local oil and gas industry, maximize profit from exploration and production activities, as well as develop a strong local mastery of technology and skills. To achieve this, local content regulations have been developed and implemented in these countries. This study employs macroenvironmental and industry analysis to analyze growth strategies for indigenous companies. These growth strategies are relevant for indigenous oil companies to penetrate the upstream petroleum sector in Ghana and Ivory Coast. Business frameworks such as PESTEL, Porter's Forces and Strategic Group Analysis helped highlight the existence of a relatively favorable business environment for the oil and gas industry to thrive in both nations. A survey was conducted among oil industry stakeholders in Ghana and Ivory Coast. The findings indicate, that in spite of local content requirements in both countries, the upstream sector remains largely dominated by international companies.