Indigenous oil producers have warned that Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector is being weighed down by more than 270 different taxes, fees and statutory levies, saying the multiplicity of charges is beginning to erode the investment gains recorded under the Petroleum Industry Act despite renewed investor confidence in the industry.
The warning came on Tuesday at the opening ceremony of the 2026 NOG Energy Week in Abuja, where industry leaders also celebrated Nigeria’s admission into the International Energy Agency as its newest Association Country, describing the development as a major endorsement of the country’s ongoing energy reforms and growing influence in global energy diplomacy.
The 25th edition of NOG Energy Week, marking the conference’s silver jubilee, is themed, “Advancing Energy Ambitions for Competitive & Resilient Economies.”
Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Producers Group, Adegbite Falade, while delivering the industry’s keynote address, said the country’s fiscal regime had become one of the biggest threats to sustaining investment inflows into the oil and gas sector.
According to him, although President Bola Tinubu’s administration has introduced sweeping reforms that have restored investor confidence and improved crude oil production, the burden of over 270 taxes and levies imposed by different government agencies risks offsetting the benefits of the Petroleum Industry Act.
