By Rareview News Report
LAGOS — Nigeria’s oil and gas industry is poised for a new era of investment and production growth, but only if government sustains policy consistency, strengthens local content implementation and creates an enabling environment for indigenous companies to thrive.
That was the consensus of leading industry executives who spoke during a high-level panel session at the ongoing Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition (NAICE) in Lagos, where experts assessed the impact of recent reforms on investment, production and long-term competitiveness.
The panel session, themed “Policy in Practice: Aligning Fiscal Strategy, Foreign Investment and Local Content for Sustainable Growth in Nigeria,” brought together senior executives from Chevron Nigeria Limited, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria, NNPC Engineering and Technical Company (NETCO) and Heirs Energies, who agreed that Nigeria has entered one of its most promising periods for energy investment in years.
While acknowledging that reforms introduced under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and subsequent presidential executive orders have begun restoring investor confidence, the executives stressed that sustained growth will depend on deepening Nigerian content, improving access to finance and building stronger indigenous technical capacity.
Local Content Beyond Compliance
Speaking on the panel, the General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Chevron Nigeria, Olusoga Oduselu, described sound public policy as the bedrock of industrial development.
“Sound policy frameworks are the foundation upon which engineering, production and technological advancement thrive.”
Oduselu noted that Chevron had championed Nigerian content development decades before the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act in 2010, arguing that local content should no longer be viewed merely as a regulatory requirement but as a deliberate strategy for creating globally competitive Nigerian companies.
He pointed to landmark projects such as the Sonam Field Development, where Chevron partnered with NigerDock and Hyundai Heavy Industries to execute major fabrication and integration works within Nigeria.
According to him, Nigerian engineering firms also undertook significant portions of the detailed engineering work, demonstrating the country’s growing technical competence.
He further cited the Agbami Deepwater Project, where Chevron supported indigenous companies, including Marine Platforms Limited, through financing and technical partnerships.
“Developing local capacity is a journey,” he said.
“It comes with costs, but many companies we supported now deliver projects across the industry.”
Industry analysts say Chevron’s local content strategy reflects the broader objective of the NOGICD Act, which seeks to retain more value within Nigeria by increasing indigenous participation in engineering, fabrication, manufacturing and oilfield services.
Reforms Reviving Investment
For TotalEnergies EP Nigeria, recent fiscal reforms have helped unlock projects that had remained dormant for years.
Deputy Managing Director, Deepwater District, Victor Bamidele, said improved fiscal incentives have significantly altered investor sentiment.
He disclosed that the company sanctioned the Ubeta Gas Project in 2024, describing it as one of Nigeria’s strongest examples of local content implementation.
Production from the project is expected to commence next year.
Bamidele also revealed that TotalEnergies is approaching a Final Investment Decision (FID) on the Ima Project, with first oil targeted for 2028.
In addition, the company is advancing development of the Preowei Field while returning to exploration activities after a period of limited drilling.
According to him, one exploration well will be drilled this year, while two additional deepwater wells are scheduled for 2027.
He stressed that indigenous participation has become indispensable to project economics.
“There is no way to profitably develop these projects without local participation.”
“The quality that Nigerian companies bring will determine the profitability of many of these projects.”
The remarks reinforce growing industry recognition that local content is no longer viewed solely as a statutory obligation but as a commercial necessity capable of reducing costs, shortening project delivery timelines and improving operational efficiency.
Capacity, Collaboration Critical
Managing Director of NNPC Engineering and Technical Company (NETCO), Salahuddeen Tahir, described the industry’s current outlook as one of the brightest in recent years.
He attributed the optimism largely to presidential executive orders introduced in February 2024, which sought to streamline contracting processes, improve regulatory efficiency and enhance investment attractiveness.
However, Tahir warned that indigenous companies must prepare for the anticipated surge in projects by strengthening their technical capabilities and financial capacity.
He argued that collaboration among local engineering firms would become increasingly important.
“The opportunities are here. We need the people, capital, technology and capability to deliver.”
According to him, no single Nigerian company is likely to possess sufficient capacity to execute all forthcoming projects independently.
Instead, he urged local firms to establish strategic alliances capable of delivering complex engineering projects while building investor confidence.
“When local companies consistently execute projects successfully, investors will continue to invest.”
Indigenous Operators Driving Recovery
Perhaps the strongest evidence of Nigeria’s changing energy landscape came from Heirs Energies, whose Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Osa Igiehon, said indigenous companies have become the dominant force behind the country’s production recovery.
According to him, Nigeria’s crude oil output declined dramatically from approximately 2.2 million barrels per day in 2020 to about 700,000 barrels per day in 2022, largely due to oil theft, pipeline vandalism and operational disruptions.
Production has since rebounded to between 1.7 million and 1.8 million barrels per day, driven by improved security, regulatory reforms and increased participation by indigenous operators.
Igiehon noted that Nigerian-owned companies now account for more than 60 per cent of national crude oil production, compared with between 20 and 30 per cent before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Heirs Energies itself, he said, increased production from 25,000 barrels per day in 2021 to over 55,000 barrels daily, while also doubling gas production using an entirely Nigerian workforce supported largely by indigenous contractors.
He added that stronger community engagement, improved pipeline surveillance and regulatory clarity had significantly enhanced operational performance.
Terminal delivery efficiency, he disclosed, improved from just three per cent when the company acquired its assets to between 95 and 100 per cent today.
Building Toward Three Million Barrels Daily
Despite the industry’s renewed optimism, speakers agreed that Nigeria’s ambition of producing three million barrels of crude oil per day by 2030 will require far more than increased upstream investment.
Igiehon called for the emergence of larger, better-capitalised indigenous service companies capable of supporting future field developments.
“We have demonstrated what indigenous operators can achieve,” he said.
“The next challenge is building indigenous service companies with the scale, funding and manufacturing capacity to support future growth.”
His position echoed those of the other panelists, who argued that stronger financing mechanisms, expanded manufacturing capacity, technology transfer and sustained implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act would determine whether the industry’s current momentum translates into lasting growth.
Outlook
The discussions at the SPE conference reflect a growing consensus within Nigeria’s petroleum industry that recent reforms are beginning to restore investor confidence after years of uncertainty. The implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), targeted presidential executive orders aimed at reducing project costs and contracting timelines, and improved security around critical oil infrastructure have contributed to renewed investment activity in deepwater, gas and brownfield developments.
Yet, stakeholders insist that policy consistency remains essential. For investors making multi-billion-dollar decisions with project lifecycles spanning decades, regulatory certainty is as important as fiscal competitiveness. Equally important is ensuring that Nigerian companies continue to build the engineering, manufacturing and technological capabilities needed to execute increasingly sophisticated projects.
As the industry charts its course toward higher production, greater gas monetisation and energy transition objectives, the message from Lagos was unequivocal: Nigeria’s next oil and gas success story will depend not only on attracting capital but also on empowering indigenous companies to compete, innovate and lead.