•Fidelity asks operators to return to stranded fields, leverage
Nigeria must urgently invest $5.5 billion in decentralised oil terminals to unlock thousands of stranded oil fields and bring to reality the push by President Bola Tinubu to ensure the nation’s oil production moves to three million barrels per day (bpd).

This comes as a 350,000-bpd capacity of which the onshore terminal already unveiled yesterday by Green Energy International Ltd in Port-Harcourt, a development, which stakeholders said would return most indigenous oil producers to their stranded fields.

Chairman of Green Energy International Ltd (GEIL), Prof. Anthony Adegbulugbe, at the event called for swift removal of infrastructure bottlenecks if Nigeria is to raise crude oil production beyond three million barrels per day.

Speaking at the tour of the Otakikpo Onshore Terminal, the first such facility built by an African indigenous operator in decades, Adegbulugbe stressed the need for strong alliances between Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and local operators.

“We must quickly and efficiently unleash Nigeria’s full resource potential,” he said, adding that GEIL has identified five more critical terminals to support President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. These five terminals are projected to cost $5.5 billion.

“This terminal is more than steel and pumps, it is a symbol of hope, opportunity, and a promise to local communities,” he said, adding “It proves Nigerian companies can execute world-class projects and lead industry transformation.”

Adegbulugbe, while calling himself “an incurable believer in Nigeria’s future,” praised local contractors, including Cakasa, Fidelity Bank, the Okan-Ama of Ikuru Town, and West African Ventures (WAV), for completing the complex project ahead of schedule despite harsh offshore conditions.

Energy expert, Dr Kayode Adegbulugbe, said only four per cent of the terminal’s capacity is currently being used.

“The advantage we have is that we are local and flexible. No other Nigerian terminal can accept crude by truck, barge, river, Atlantic, and pipeline. We are ready today to handle all four.”

With Nigeria’s pipeline infrastructure weak and facing serious theft, Adegbulugbe said the country must decentralise quickly.

He stressed the need for coastal hubs along the Niger Delta, with three-phase delivery for oil, gas, and water, which will allow small fields up to 50 km away to connect for processing and export. The terminal is technically and regulatorily ready, with the first export vessel expected between May 28 and June 2.

Adegbulugbe told The Guardian that Nigeria’s problem is not reserves, with 37 billion barrels but infrastructure.

“To jump from two to three million barrels per day, we need capacity for an extra 1.2 million barrels. Green Energy alone will not close the gap; we need at least four more terminals like this, or we will be stuck discussing the same issues in ten years,” Adegbuluge said.

Smaller fields, often producing 15,000 to 20,000 barrels, struggle to secure financing without access or scale. Decentralised infrastructure could make them bankable, attracting investment for larger gas projects.

Adegbulugbe argued local processing is more sustainable, with three to five million barrels of associated gas monetised rather than flared. Without local hubs, small fields are wasteful and short-lived, he noted, adding that decentralisation reduces waste, improves gas use, and cuts environmental impact.

He compared shared infrastructure to carpooling, saying centralised services, offices, staff, and logistics could cut production costs by up to 40 per cent, boosting profits and the economy.

While the current terminal cost $400 million, scaling up will require an estimated $5.5 billion to build five more hubs, pipelines, and supporting infrastructure.

“We were disciplined in capital spending,” Adegbulugbe said, adding “But once we reach 50,000 to 60,000 barrels per day, we will need more pipelines. No country should settle for small hubs; we need large hubs working together.”

He called NNPC an essential partner, noting they own the land and hold most reserves.

“We have shown international banks we can deliver, but scaling to 50,000 barrels daily needs deep partnerships, and NNPC is key to that,” he said.

Head of Energy and Power at Fidelity Bank, Emeka Nkemakolam, urged marginal field operators to revisit stranded assets, saying the new ATIL facility offers a cost advantage that could transform previously unviable projects.

At the project launch, Nkemakolam stressed Fidelity Bank’s long-term commitment, saying, “Our backing is not transactional, it is foundational. We have long supported indigenous operators, helping raise the millions needed to bring assets into production, and we will stay committed as they transition to new infrastructure.”

“Many assets were uneconomical due to lack of evacuation infrastructure,” Nkemakolam said. “Now, with this facility, the economics change — and if your current bank does not understand, come to us,” he said.

Time is short, as marginal field licences expire if unused within two years, and the government urgently needs production to secure royalties. Fidelity believes the facility could help Nigeria push production from two to three to five million barrels daily over the next five years.