Africa’s largest crude oil producer, Nigeria, attracted $5.3 billion in upstream capital investment in 2025, accounting for about 38 per cent of all major project sanctions on the continent over the past 24 months.
This was disclosed by the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, in a post on X earlier this week.
She said the surge occurred despite an 18 per cent overall decline in upstream spending across Sub-Saharan Africa, signalling a decoupled growth trajectory for Nigeria’s energy sector.
Between 2015 and 2023, Nigeria attracted only 4 per cent (about $5 billion) of sanctioned African Final Investment Decisions (FIDs), accounting for just six of the 44 upstream petroleum projects approved during that period.
However, in just the past two years (2024–2025), the country has secured 38 per cent of the continent’s major projects, attracting about $8 billion in capital through five high-impact project sanctions.
The turnaround follows reforms introduced under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which have helped reverse the trend and enabled Nigeria to secure five of the eight upstream projects sanctioned across the continent in 2025.
“The administration’s data-driven benchmarking has propelled Nigeria into the top quartile of global jurisdictions for investment competitiveness. With the Bonga North and Ubeta gas developments also advancing, the Presidency expects this momentum to carry into 2026.
“As Nigeria enters a new cycle of upstream investment, we must strengthen local content as a catalyst for smooth and timely project delivery. Regulators must shed legacy mindsets and act as enablers of speed, clarity, and efficiency,” Verheijen concluded.
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