Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, yesterday disclosed that President Bola Tinubu’s investment-friendly reforms and executive orders were already unlocking significant capital inflows into Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, with Shell alone investing more than $7 billion in the past 18 months.

Ojulari disclosed this to newsmen after a meeting between President Tinubu and a Shell delegation led by the company’s global Chairman, Wael Sawan, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, describing the visit as the first by Shell’s topmost global leadership to the President.

According to him, the delegation visited primarily to thank the President for the executive orders issued early last year, which introduced targeted incentives to attract fresh investment into Nigeria’s energy sector following the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

He explained that although the PIA laid a strong foundation for sectoral reforms, intense global competition for capital made it imperative for Nigeria to remain flexible and competitive.

Ojulari noted that the reforms had already delivered concrete results, citing Shell’s successful completion of its onshore joint venture divestment, which saw the assets transferred to Renaissance.

ALSO, President Bola Tinubu has approved the gazetting of targeted, investment-linked incentives to support the proposed Bonga South West deep-offshore oil project by Shell and its partners, as part of broader efforts to stimulate job creation, attract foreign exchange inflows, and boost oil and gas investment.

The President also directed the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, to ensure the prompt gazetting of the incentives in line with Nigeria’s existing legal, regulatory, and fiscal frameworks.