•National oil company woos global investors

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) yesterday said that Nigeria attracted about $17 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) after the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) as well as the regulatory reforms embarked upon by the federal government.

The national oil company also called on global investors to direct their attention to the Nigerian oil and gas sector as the nation is now an investors’ haven owing to the robust regulatory reforms and the investment-friendly policies of the President Bola Tinubu administration.

The Executive Vice President, Upstream, Mr. Udy Ntia, made the call during a session with investors at the 2025 CERAWeek by S&P Global in Houston, Texas, United States, a statement signed by the company’s spokesman, Olufemi Soneye, stated.

Speaking on the theme: “Spotlight: Attracting Investment for Oil and Gas”, Ntia emphasised that Nigeria was well-positioned as a safe and attractive destination for investment as the nation is currently expanding its oil and gas industry to meet rising global energy demand driven by geopolitical tensions and the energy policies of the US administration.

“For us in Nigeria, despite global energy security concerns, including those in Europe, we see significant opportunities. We have strategically positioned our assets to leverage the current strong price environment, which has remained favourable over the past two to three years. As a result, we anticipate substantial investment inflows into the sector,” he stated.

The EVP listed some of the areas with huge investment opportunities in the country to include the refining and gas sub-sectors, stressing that Nigeria was keen on expanding it refining capacity to reduce dependency on imports, even as it is also interested in tapping into the nation’s vast gas reserves of about 207 trillion cubic feet (TCF) to drive industrialisation and economic growth. 

“Gas will play a critical role in Nigeria’s energy future. We are expanding our gas infrastructure in collaboration with partners such as Shell, ENI, and Total. Our LNG Train 7 project is advancing, and we are investing in domestic pipeline networks to meet local energy demands,” he explained.

Ntia also disclosed that the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 and the series of Executive Orders signed by President Tinubu in 2023 have significantly liberalised the regulatory framework, offering incentives for cost recovery, royalty payments, and profit-sharing mechanisms.

“Nigeria recorded $16 billion to $17 billion in foreign investment inflows in 2024 following the implementation of these regulatory reforms,” he added.

He encouraged foreign investors, particularly from China and India, to explore the investment opportunities in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, citing the country’s large crude oil reserves (over 37 billion barrels) and flexible investment models, including joint ventures and production-sharing contracts.

“Nigeria offers a stable democracy, improved security, and a business friendly regulatory framework. We welcome investors from China, India, and beyond to partner with us in unlocking the vast potential of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector,” Ntia concluded.

The session featured global industry leaders such as the Deputy Director General, Planning, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Pinxian Zhang; Managing Director of ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), Rajarshi Gupta; and Chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corporation, Masoud Mahmoud.   

CERAWeek is one of the largest energy conferences in the world, drawing thousands of foremost global energy industry experts and a host of other corporate and government leaders from around the world annually to Houston, United States, for a week-long conversation on the future of energy. 

​