FG seeks efficient project delivery to bolster economy

From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja

The Federal Government has called for greater efficiency in project delivery across the oil and gas industry as part of efforts to sustain investment and keep the country competitive amid the global energy transition.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, made the call on Thursday at the 2026 Annual Conference of the Association of Energy Correspondents, Abuja (AECAF), in Abuja.

Speaking on the theme, “Sustaining Oil and Gas Investment in Nigeria Amid Energy Transition,” Ekpo, who was represented by his Special Technical adviser, Abel Nsa, said Nigeria must address issues affecting project economics, including infrastructure constraints, security challenges, operational inefficiencies, contracting timelines and regulatory bottlenecks.

According to him, government has a responsibility to create an enabling environment for investment, while operators must invest responsibly, improve efficiency and uphold high standards of safety and environmental performance.

He said sustaining investment in the petroleum sector required more than legislation, as investors also needed confidence that government policies would be consistently implemented and projects executed efficiently and profitably.

“The Federal Government has taken important steps in this direction, particularly through the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 and ongoing reforms across the petroleum sector.

“These reforms are designed to provide greater clarity and certainty for investors, strengthen regulatory institutions and create a more competitive operating environment.

“We recognise, however, that legislation alone is not sufficient. Investors require confidence that policies will be consistently implemented and that projects can be executed efficiently and profitably,” he said.

Ekpo said Nigeria remained an energy-rich country with significant oil and gas resources and enormous potential across the petroleum value chain, stressing that the objective should be to ensure that the resources support industrialisation, job creation, infrastructure development and improved living standards.

He said achieving this would require sustained commitment to policy stability, regulatory certainty, fiscal competitiveness, security and efficient project delivery.

The minister also stressed the strategic importance of natural gas to Nigeria’s economic transformation, saying the government was pursuing a transition from an economy where gas was primarily viewed as an export commodity to one where it was increasingly utilised domestically.

He said the Decade of Gas initiative was aimed at expanding the use of gas for power generation, manufacturing, fertiliser production, petrochemicals, transportation and other productive activities.

According to him, projects such as the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) and Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas pipelines, as well as investments in gas processing, LNG and other midstream infrastructure, were critical to connecting the country’s gas resources to markets.

He added that the government was promoting the expansion of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) as part of efforts to improve access to cleaner and more affordable energy for households, businesses and industries.

Ekpo said Nigeria’s energy transition must reflect the country’s development realities, noting that millions of Nigerians still required reliable electricity and access to cleaner cooking fuels, while industries needed affordable and dependable energy.

Also speaking, the Commission Chief Executive (CCE) of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) is Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said Nigeria had recorded improvements in oil production and was working to unlock further investment in the upstream sector.

Eyesan, who was represented by the Director, Surface Development, Development and Production Department of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engr. Joseph Ogunsola, said Nigeria averaged about 1.68 million barrels per day of crude oil and condensate in August 2026, with crude production meeting the country’s OPEC quota for the fourth consecutive month.

According to her, the development provides a stronger base for the country to pursue its production aspirations of two million barrels per day in the near term and three million barrels per day by 2030.

She said achieving the targets would depend on bringing viable shut-in volumes back on stream, reducing production losses, ensuring that operators implement credible work programmes and helping mature projects move more efficiently towards first oil and first gas.

Eyasan said investment was critical to achieving the production targets, noting that capital would flow to jurisdictions where investors had clarity and certainty about the rules and timelines governing their investments.

“Investors need to understand the rules and the timelines before committing long-term capital. This is why regulatory predictability and speed remain important to us,” she said.

She disclosed that since 2024, the Commission had approved Field Development Plans representing more than $57 billion in investment, while 22 major offshore projects expected between 2026 and 2030 carried an estimated investment potential of between $30 billion and $50 billion.

The NUPRC boss, however, said the priority was now execution, stressing that approvals and investment commitments would only have real value when projects moved into implementation and new production volumes came on stream.

She said: “Our role as regulator is not to stand in the way of investment. Neither is it to lower the standards required to protect Nigeria’s interest.

“The task is to regulate in a way that gives credible investors the certainty to deploy capital and the confidence to remain.”

Eyasen also said the Commission was incorporating sustainability and decarbonisation considerations into upstream development, including at the Field Development Plan stage.

He said operators were expected to consider energy efficiency, gas utilisation, flaring and emissions performance alongside the technical and commercial fundamentals of projects.

He added that the Commission was also focusing on existing assets through sustainability plans, asset integrity, predictive maintenance and energy optimisation.

According to him, efforts to manage methane and gas flaring through the Gas Flaring, Venting and Methane Emissions Regulations, stronger Leak Detection and Repair requirements and the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme were aimed at reducing emissions while creating opportunities to commercialise resources that would otherwise be lost.

Earlier, Chairman of AECAF, Mr John Ofikhenua, said sustaining investment in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry would require policy stability, security and consistent implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act.

Ofikhenua said the global oil and gas investment landscape had been affected by developments including the shale boom in the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic and the global energy transition.

He said while the push for net-zero emissions had resulted in divestments from fossil fuels, subsequent global developments had demonstrated the continuing importance of oil and gas to the world economy.

He urged the government to sustain the implementation of the PIA and create a stable environment capable of retaining existing investors and attracting new capital.

“We need to play by the rule. As the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has been instrumental to the recent investment growth in the industry, Nigeria must sustain adherence to the legislation,” he said.

Ofikhenua also identified national security as critical to investment in the oil sector, calling for sustained security in the Niger Delta to retain investor confidence and attract fresh investments.

He further urged the government to address concerns over policy changes, stressing that stable and enduring policies were necessary to sustain investors’ confidence in the sector.

The AECAF chairman said the association, which comprises print, broadcast and online journalists covering the oil and gas industry, would continue to promote professional and ethical reporting of developments in the sector.

The conference brought together government officials, regulators, industry players and energy correspondents to deliberate on ways of sustaining investment in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry as the global energy system evolves.

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