• ‘No single exploration in Nigeria for 12 years due to bottlenecks’
Total Energies has avoided Nigeria and invested $6 billion in Angola as a result of bottlenecks.
Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanne, said Nigeria’s dilly-dallying meant there was no single exploration in the Niger Delta region in the last 12 years.
Speaking in Kigali, Rwanda, at the Africa CEO Forum, Pouyanne was not convinced that Nigeria is ready to be consistent with oil sector policies.
The sector, led by President Bola Tinubu as Minister and two Ministers of State in charge of oil and gas, has been struggling to maintain crude production, in line with budget benchmarks; even as international oil companies (IOCs) divest their assets due to complex and lingering concerns.
While investment inflow into Nigeria’s oil sector reportedly declined from $22.2 billion in 2014 to $6 billion in 2021, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that foreign investment fell to zero in the second quarter of 2023.
“In reality, the Niger Delta is the most prolific part of West Africa. But if you look at what happened, because of these debates, there has not been a single exploration in Nigeria for 12 years,” Pouyanne said.
He doesn’t see trust in the system, a development that he said is pushing investors like his organisation to destinations that have perfectly integrated policies.
“We have countries that have perfectly integrated policies like Angola. So, we went to Angola and announced a very large $6 billion project in the beginning of the week because their framework is stable,” Pouyanne said.
Nigeria’s lingering crisis of insecurity, which appeared to have defied political solutions, remained a big concern for Pouyanne. “For a CEO like me, the security of my people is of utmost importance,” he added.
Meanwhile, Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, while receiving the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador to Nigeria, Salem Saeed Al Shamsi, said the country was inviting UAE investors to look at Nigeria as a prime destination, noting that the business environment is friendly, and the nation has a vast deposit of crude.
Lokpobiri sees the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) as a robust legal framework that guarantees returns on investments, stressing that it significantly reshapes the oil and gas sector. “The PIA ensures a secure and profitable investment climate, making Nigeria an attractive location for investors,” he noted.
Al Shamsi said the UAE perceives great potential in Nigeria’s energy sector and appreciates the steps being taken to create an environment conducive to investment.
