Nigeria’s offshore oil and gas sector is bracing for a fresh wave of capital as the country’s upstream regulator projects that 22 major projects will draw between $30 billion and $50 billion in investment over the next four years, underscoring a resurgence in Africa’s largest crude producer after years of sluggish deal-making.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission said Wednesday that the projects are expected to reach key milestones between 2026 and 2030, adding to a pipeline of approvals that has already topped $57 billion since 2024.
“Since 2024, the NUPRC has approved over US$57 billion in Field Development Plans, some of which have translated to Final Investment Decisions,” Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, the commission’s chief executive, said in a keynote address at the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition in Lagos.
Her remarks were delivered by Enorense Amadasu, the commission’s executive commissioner for development and production.
The disclosure signals renewed investor confidence in Nigeria’s offshore basins, which hold some of the industry’s most prized deepwater acreage but have struggled in recent years to compete for capital against rival basins in Guyana, Brazil and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Regulatory bottlenecks, security concerns onshore and a wave of asset divestments by international majors had clouded the outlook as recently as 2023.
