Unlocking more barrels: From recovery to national renewal

President Bola Tinubu's administration has been focusing on four key aspects of Nigeria's oil and gas sector: reserves, revenues, reliability, and responsibility. Recently, the conversation has shifted to the next era of oil and gas production, and what Nigeria can build with it. Unlocking more barrels from existing fields is not just about increasing production numbers, but also about building the country itself.

The IMA gas field, discovered in 1973, took more than half a century to reach a final investment decision in 2026. The conditions for investing in this gas changed over time, with Nigeria needing to overcome issues like uncertain responsibilities, slow contracting, uncompetitive economics, and unreliable routes to paying customers.

President Tinubu's leadership has led to changes in this proposition, with fiscal principles designed to reward production, protect existing revenues, keep rules workable, and tailor incentives to the resource. Fiscal reform and commercial negotiation had to move together, with incentives supporting development and access to customers and prices that justified investment.

Opening opportunities for third-party gas supply to the NLNG was also crucial. Three practical responsibilities for moving from the investment story to the production story are exploration, local capability, and adaptive technology. Expanding exploration requires reliable geological data, credible exploration programs, and development plans that account for infrastructure and markets from the outset.

Improving local capability involves building a competent workforce and promoting Nigerian excellence. Finally, using technology to change performance, such as better seismic interpretation, reservoir modeling, digital monitoring, and methane measurement, can reduce uncertainty, lower costs, and make operations safer. These responsibilities extend beyond the upstream sector, as investors must choose Nigeria based on the quality of its proposition.

A more productive Nigeria and an industrialized Africa are the ultimate goals, as energy poverty also hampers industrialization. The next barrel must build more than just production numbers, but also the economic story of Nigeria.