By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Solution-driven policies and reforms in the oil and gas industry are raising investors confidence in recent years, official says, ending a decade of zero investment in Nigeria’s oil sector.
At the opening of the 2025 Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week in Abuja on Tuesday, the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, said in 2023 when he was appointed as the minister, there was no investment for 10 years due to legal framework and other challenges.
The narratives changed and investments were recorded as a result of deliberate policies and reforms that worked, and absolute increase in investors confidence in Nigeria, the minister emphasised.
The 2025 NOG Energy Week Conference and Exhibition had as the theme, “Accelerating Global Energy Progress through Investment, Partnerships, and Innovation.”
While highlighting challenges facing the sector, Lokpobiri noted that the frequent summons of IOCs by the parliament for probe hearings affects the confidence of investors.
“Part of the complaints in the industry is about the frequent summons at the National Assembly and that should be reduced.
“I was a senator for many years, we knew the consequences of some of these actions, before summoning you need to look at the issues critically and make consultations.
“What is the business of summoning the IOCs on procurement issues that happened many years ago? They should not be summoned for frivolous reasons,” the minister said.
He further highlighted that the oil-rich West African nation is at the moment producing about 1.745 million barrels of crude oil per day (bpd), targeting to hit two million bpd by the end of 2025.
Lokpobiri said the production target for the 2025 budget was based on 2.06 million bpd, adding that it must ramp up production to hit two million.
“We can succeed when we work together to be strong enough to deliver.
“I urge the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) to change its target ambition to producing above two million barrels by 2025,” he said.
Giving a report on the establishment of African Energy Bank in the country, he said that advertisement was placed for the office of its President, adding that in the next few days Afreximbank and other partners would convene a shareholders’ meeting.
The Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, in his remarks said that Nigeria had proven gas reserves of over 200 trillion cubic feet.
Ekpo said that value would only be created in the gas sector when resources were developed and utilised, adding that through the “Decade of Gas” initiative, the country was focused on translating its vast gas wealth into tangible socio-economic benefits.
