Nigeria is leading Africa’s $221bn oil and gas investment drive, with the country expected to attract between $30bn and $50bn for 22 major offshore oil and gas projects by 2030, according to a new report.
Industrial Info Resources said it was tracking more than 800 active oil and gas projects across Africa, including production, pipeline, and terminal projects. Together, these projects have a combined investment value of more than $221bn.
The report said Nigeria’s upstream regulator, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, expects 22 major offshore projects to begin between now and 2030. The projects could attract between $30bn and $50bn in investment.
NUPRC Chief Executive Officer Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan disclosed the projection at the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ annual conference in Lagos on August 5.
Eyesan said the NUPRC had approved more than $57bn in field development plans since 2024, with some of these projects already reaching final investment decisions.
Industrial Info Resources said concerns over energy security and geopolitical uncertainty are driving oil and gas investment across Africa. The report expects several sanctioned but delayed upstream and liquefied natural gas projects to move closer to production.
Gordon Gorrie, Senior Vice-President of Research, Oil & Gas at Industrial Info Resources, said the next 12 to 18 months would be important for large-scale oil and gas projects across Africa. He expects several delayed upstream and LNG projects to move towards first production, with most investment going into offshore oil developments and some into new LNG liquefaction capacity.
Gorrie also linked the renewed interest in African energy projects to changes in international energy markets. He said international buyers were showing greater interest in African LNG as they looked beyond the uncertainties affecting the Middle East.
The report highlighted Mozambique LNG, developed by TotalEnergies, as one of the major projects expected to support Africa’s growing oil and gas investment. The 12.9 million-tonne-per-year project is scheduled for completion in 2030.
ExxonMobil is also targeting a final investment decision in 2026 for the 18 million-tonne-per-year Rovuma LNG project in Mozambique.
The report put Africa’s oil and gas investment outlook for the year at $41 bn, with production expected to reach 11.4 million barrels per day. It also said Nigeria’s crude oil production increased to 1.71 million barrels per day between April 2025 and April 2026.
The report said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited expects Nigeria to add another 100,000 barrels per day to its production by the end of 2026.
It also identified Shell’s Bonga/Southwest/Aparo complex as one of Nigeria’s major deepwater developments. The project is expected to produce 150,000 barrels of crude oil per day when completed.
source: punchng.com
African Energy Council