Nigeria leads Africa’s $221bn oil investment drive

Nigeria is leading Africa’s $221bn oil and gas investment drive, with the country expected to attract between $30bn and $50bn in investments into 22 major offshore oil and gas projects by 2030, a report has stated.

The new report, released by Industrial Info Resources, noted that more than 800 active capital oil and gas production, pipeline and terminal projects were being tracked across Africa, with a combined investment value exceeding $221bn.

It said Nigeria’s upstream regulator, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, expected 22 major offshore projects to commence between now and 2030, with investment potential of between $30bn and $50bn.

Recall that the NUPRC Chief Executive Officer, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed the projection at the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ annual conference in Lagos on August 5.

“Since 2024, the NUPRC has approved over $57bn in field development plan(s), some of which have translated to final investment decisions,” Eyesan said.

According to the report, Africa’s oil and gas investment outlook is being driven by growing energy security concerns and geopolitical uncertainties, with several sanctioned but delayed upstream and liquefied natural gas projects expected to progress towards first production.

Industrial Info Resources’ Senior Vice-President of Research, Oil & Gas, Gordon Gorrie, said the investment expansion was not peculiar to Nigeria, noting that African countries were increasing spending on production, midstream infrastructure and other energy projects.

“The next 12-18 months will be a critical era for large-scale oil and gas projects in Africa. Several sanctioned but long-delayed upstream and liquefied natural gas developments will move toward first production,” Gorrie said.

He added that most of the capital would be concentrated in offshore oil development, while some would go into new LNG liquefaction capacity.

Gorrie further said the renewed interest in African energy projects was partly linked to developments in international energy markets. “The current global risk crisis has pushed international buyer interest in African LNG away from Middle Eastern uncertainties,” he said.

The report cited Mozambique LNG, being developed by TotalEnergies, as one of the major projects expected to contribute to Africa’s expanding energy investment outlook.

The 12.9 million-tonne-per-annum project is scheduled for completion in 2030, while ExxonMobil is targeting a final investment decision in 2026 for the 18-MTPA Rovuma LNG project, also in Mozambique.

It stated that Africa’s oil and gas investment outlook for the year stood at $41bn, with production expected to reach 11.4 million barrels per day. Nigeria’s crude production was also said to have risen to 1.71 million barrels per day between April 2025 and April 2026.

The report further noted that the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited had projected that Nigeria could add 100,000 barrels per day to its production by the end of 2026.

It identified Shell’s Bonga/Southwest/Aparo complex as a key deepwater development in Nigeria, saying the project was expected to produce 150,000 barrels of crude oil per day upon completion.

The PUNCH recalls that President Bola Tinubu has signed a series of executive orders aimed at attracting investors to the energy sector.