Mkpoikana Udoma
Abuja — Nigeria’s oil and gas industry is experiencing a strong wave of renewed international investor confidence, with rig activity reaching decade-high levels and production on the rise, according to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri.
Speaking on Nigeria’s upstream resurgence, Lokpobiri attributed the turnaround to policy clarity, successful IOC divestments, and the pragmatic leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which he said had restored trust in Nigeria’s investment environment.
The Minister spoke at the ongoing NOG Energy Week 2025 in Abuja.
He said, “The summary of what I’ve been talking about is that confidence has returned, and that’s why investments are coming in. For ten years, prior to 2023, Nigeria had no new investments. Today, we have over 40 active rigs, and we are hoping to reach 50 by the end of the year.”
The Minister noted that one of the most consequential reforms was the orderly approval of international oil company, IOC, divestments, which helped debunk fears of an investment vacuum.
“Someone asked me in America: ‘Why should I invest in Nigeria when you won’t allow me to divest easily and peacefully?’ But once we approved the divestments, investments increased, and production grew by over 300,000 barrels per day,” Lokpobiri said.
“I said it in Davos in 2024 and Nigerians were not happy. They thought Nigeria would suffer if divestments happened. But look at the result, value retention and increased production.”
Lokpobiri said the Federal Government is determined to ramp up production in line with the 2025 budget benchmark of 2.06 million barrels per day, pushing back on NNPC Limited’s more conservative target of 2 million bpd by 2027.
“I told them I don’t agree with that. I gave them clear directives. The President’s expectations are very clear on production,” he stated.
“The time for dormant wells is over. Some companies shut down over 500 wells due to delayed divestments. We must reverse that.”
In a direct appeal to the world’s top oilfield service providers, Lokpobiri urged international firms like Saipem, Schlumberger, and others to return to Nigeria, assuring them that the business environment has been restructured for fair play.
“I want to use NOG 2025 to call on the big boys in oil servicing to return to Nigeria. We are open for business,” he said.
Addressing past grievances around Nigeria’s Local Content policy, the Minister admitted its misuse in some cases.
“They said local content was misapplied, turned into local substitution, where someone registers a briefcase company and subcontracts to real service firms like Saipem. That’s not what local content is about.”
“We’re creating a conducive environment for healthy competition, and I will continue to engage these companies directly.”
While acknowledging the competence of NNPC’s newly restructured board and management, Lokpobiri emphasized the need for urgency and ambition.
“When the new NNPC management was appointed, the whole world reacted. I was told, ‘what this team cannot do, cannot be done. But when expectations are too high, it becomes a problem. We can’t wait till 2027 for 2 million bpd when the 2025 budget is already set on 2.06 million.”
As Nigeria repositions its oil and gas sector to attract capital, boost output, and drive industrialization, the Minister’s remarks sent a clear message: investment confidence is back, but the clock is ticking.
SweetCrude Reports continues full coverage of NOG 2025, where Nigeria’s energy future is being shaped.
