{
  "id": 19044903,
  "title": "Oil firms fail to invest despite strong profits – NESG",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/08/oil-firms-fail-to-invest-despite-strong-profits-nesg-19044903",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-08T23:50:52.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch",
    "slug": "punch",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/oil-firms-fail-to-invest-despite-strong-profits-nesg/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Nigeria's oil sector has experienced a slowdown in economic growth during the first half of 2026, despite stable crude oil production and strong profitability among businesses. The Nigerian Economic Summit Group's report \"From Crude Extraction to Value-Added Petroleum\" highlights the disconnect between production performance and the sector's contribution to the wider economy. Strong profitability, healthy cash flows, and improved access to credit have not translated into new investments.\n\nThe report notes that real growth in the crude petroleum and natural gas sector slowed to 2.6 percent in the first half of 2026, down from 10.7 percent in the same period of 2025. This decline is attributed to inadequate electricity supply and economic uncertainty, rather than a decrease in crude oil production. Crude oil production averaged 1.63 million barrels per day in H1-2026, slightly below the previous year's 1.68 million barrels per day but above 2024's 1.53 million barrels per day.\n\nA significant shift has occurred in Nigeria's petroleum export structure, with exports moving away from crude oil towards non-crude petroleum products. Crude oil's share of total exports declined from 71.4 percent in 2024 to 52.9 percent in the first half of 2026, while the share of non-crude exports increased from 16.9 percent to 32 percent during the same period. The full operation of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is considered an important factor behind this shift.\n\nThe transition to a greater focus on refined petroleum products signifies a departure from Nigeria's reliance on crude oil exports. However, the report stresses that this shift must be supported by increased investments in refining, gas processing, and other supporting infrastructure to retain more economic value from petroleum resources.\n\nInadequate power supply and economic uncertainty were identified as the leading constraints to businesses in the sector. Despite these challenges, energy-sector businesses continue to report expansionary operating conditions. The Overall Business Conditions Index for the energy sector remained above the benchmark of 100, indicating favorable financial conditions. Profitability, cash flow, and access to credit were strong, yet investment remained a significant weakness, with the Investment Index below the neutral benchmark of 100.",
  "summary": "Nigeria’s petroleum sector recorded a sharp slowdown in economic growth in the first half of 2026 despite maintaining relatively stable crude oil production, as inadequate electricity supply and… Read More: https://punchng.com/oil-firms-fail-to-invest-despite-strong-profits-nesg/",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}