By The Bureau News
CAPE TOWN, South Africa – July 23, 2025 — Nigeria is set to present a bold new era of energy sector reform and investment opportunity at African Energy Week (AEW) 2025: Invest in African Energies, scheduled to hold from September 29 to October 3 in Cape Town, South Africa.
This year’s edition will feature a high-level “Invest in Nigeria” Roundtable, where key stakeholders from the public and private sectors will unveil the scope and impact of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s transformative Executive Order—a game-changing policy designed to streamline regulatory bottlenecks, reduce project costs, and reignite investor confidence across Nigeria’s oil and gas value chain.
Confirmed speakers include:
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Olu Verheijen, Special Advisor to the President on Energy
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Arthur Ename, Vice President of Business Development, Africa at NOV
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Nosa Omorodion, Country Director at SLB Nigeria
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Alex Irune, Executive Director of Oando and MD of Oando Energy Resources
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A senior representative from ExxonMobil
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Philip Mshelbila, MD/CEO of Nigeria LNG (NLNG)
Groundbreaking Reforms Underway
Signed in April 2025, President Tinubu’s Executive Order introduces performance-based tax credits for oil and gas companies that achieve verifiable cost reductions in upstream projects. Companies that meet annual cost-efficiency benchmarks—set by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC)—are entitled to retain 50% of incremental government revenues generated from such savings, with total credits capped at 20% of annual tax liabilities.
This marks a pivotal shift in Nigeria’s upstream sector, which has historically struggled with high operating costs and bureaucratic delays. The reforms are designed to promote a more transparent, competitive, and investor-friendly climate that can unlock dormant projects and accelerate fresh capital inflows.
Nigeria’s Gas Ambitions: A Cornerstone for Growth
The roundtable will also showcase Nigeria’s long-term gas strategy, highlighting its ambition to become a regional gas powerhouse. With over 200 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of proven reserves, Nigeria is scaling up domestic infrastructure and export capabilities.
A centerpiece of this push is the NLNG Train 7 expansion, now nearing completion, which is expected to boost Nigeria’s LNG production by 35%. Meanwhile, new policies are enabling upstream and midstream gas investments through:
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Modular gas processing incentives
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Flexible pricing frameworks
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Market access reforms for domestic suppliers
Industry Alignment and Indigenous Participation
Private sector players are aligning with the government’s push for efficiency, innovation, and localization. Companies like SLB and NOV are driving technology-enabled solutions, while indigenous operators such as Oando are expanding operations in the post-Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) era.
The Executive Order is also fostering more competitive bidding processes, expediting international oil company (IOC) divestments, and empowering local firms to scale operations under a more stable, predictable policy regime.
Nigeria Reasserts Strategic Energy Leadership
As Africa’s largest oil producer, Nigeria’s renewed policy clarity and aggressive reform agenda are poised to reinforce its position as a strategic hub for hydrocarbon investment. AEW 2025 will provide a global platform to showcase these reforms to international investors, energy financiers, and development partners.
With enhanced regulatory certainty, a pro-investor fiscal environment, and growing commitment to natural gas as a transition fuel, Nigeria is leading Africa’s charge toward energy security, industrialization, and economic transformation.