BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja
The Federal Government has enticed investors with a mouth-watering package, offering $50 billion investment for the Deep Offshore Oil and Gas projects.
President Bola Tinubu had on August 6, 2026, signed the Deep Offshore Oil and Gas Projects Incentives (Tax Remission) Order, designed to attract up to $50 billion in new investments into Nigeria's deepwater sector.
The Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil) Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri stated this at the ongoing Abu Dhabi Petroleum Exhibition and Conference in the United Arab Emirate (UAE).
In his presentation titled: “Competing for Capital: who will win the next wave of energy investment?”, the minister declared Nigeria safe and predictable for investment.
He disclosed that the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz would not affect investments in Nigeria due to its location.
“It is important for me to mention here that Nigeria is located in a place where we may not be affected by what is going on in the Strait of Hormuz. So, it is important that the world invest, diversify their investments because whatever happens, the investments will not be jeopardised,” he said.
Lokpobiri described Nigeria as the destination of energy infrastructure investment in terms of choice of location, having produced hydrocarbons for over three decades.
He added: “If anybody is willing to invest in energy infrastructure today, Nigeria is the best destination. And why do I say so? Nigeria is a mature field; we’ve been producing oil and gas for over three decades, while, unlike so many other countries that when you enter, you have to go and learn, Nigeria is a predictable market.
The minister revealed that the $50 billion oil and gas tax incentives signed by President Tinubu in the deep water are already attracting investors, encouraging companies to invest in the deep offshore.
Lokpobiri noted that Nigeria has been boosting its current production in the last three years, inclusive of condensate to 1.8 million barrels of crude oil per day, as against the one mb/d in the previous years.
He said that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) signed $57billion agreements on the field development plans, informing stakeholders that international investors are already flocking Nigeria from the Middle East, Asia, the United States, and Europeans.
The minister hinted that Nigeria has oil resources in the shallow water, swamp, land, despite its enormous reserves in deep water, saying that International Oil Companies (IOCs) are fleeing the country since it is a predictable market.
Instead of leaving, the oil giants have moved from the shallow waters to offshore as only indigenous firms have grown production by over 300 per cent and now account for 70 per cent of the oil production.
He said: “And that is why none of the IOCs is leaving. What happened in Nigeria is that some of the IOCs left shallow water and land assets and went offshore. Now, those domestic players, most of whom worked under the international oil companies, have grown production by over 200–300 per cent today. Over 70 per cent of what is produced in Nigeria is produced by domestic players.”
Speaking on ‘Energy Security is National’, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo enjoined the stakeholders to invest in resilient infrastructure, stating that Nigeria’s gas reserve has increased to 215 trillion cubic feet from the 209 TCF in 2023.
He disclosed that natural gas is a critical asset that the country intends to use to guarantee energy security and economic transformation, stating that there is LNG basically meant for export.
Ekpo confirmed that Renaissance African Energy Company Limited has raised gas supply to 80 per cent from 59 per cent.
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