Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja 

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, Mr. Tony Attah, has stated that firms in the Nigerian oil and gas industry are now better positioned, than in the last five years, to optimise the country’s vast hydrocarbon natural resources, due to recent changes made by the federal government.

A statement by the oil and gas company noted that Attah made these comments during a panel discussion at the recently concluded 50th anniversary celebration of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) in Lagos.

Lauding key policies of the federal government, Attah, represented by Renaissance’s Executive Vice President, Finance, Mr. Olusegun Banwo, stressed that positive changes that have occurred in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) were unheard of previously.

“Today, several things have lined up well for our industry. Over the last 50 years, we have built a critical mass of extremely talented Nigerians across all levels of the oil and gas industry. That is a great thing to have happened to us. How we now leverage that talent to move this country forward is in our hands.

“Also, we have the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGIG) Act; the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and, probably, most importantly, the NNPC Limited, because the changes that have occurred in NNPC are things that many of us could never have dreamt of. 

“But they are here. We have a board that is populated by extremely competent and experienced people. We have a management that comes from the international oil companies, they are highly experienced, and they are willing to partner. So, all of those are lined up.

“The challenge before the industry today is to make sure that the organisations playing in the industry can stand very critical scrutiny of their management and their boards. That we have shareholders that are there to grow the pie; that we have boards of directors that are competent and credible and independent, able to take independent decisions; and, above all, management that, as individuals, are going to lead by competence and character,” he emphasised.

These, he said, will define the next decades of the oil and gas industry, explaining that with all the unfolding changes in the industry, attracting finance would not be a challenge. 

“When people give money to organisations, it is not really the asset that they are financing. It is the people that they are giving the money to. Before a financial institution will lend out money, it is going to take a very critical look at the management and the board of the organisation. Let us ensure that our organisations can stand that scrutiny,” he advised.

Attah enjoined other stakeholders in Nigeria oil and gas industry to emulate the vision and courage of Renaissance which completed, in March 2025, the purchase of all the shares of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC). 

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