Nigeria recorded a major investment milestone in 2025 with the signing of 28 new field development plans valued at $18.2 billion, representing an estimated production potential of 1.4 billion barrels of oil.
Speaking in Abuja at the opening of the 9th Nigeria International Energy Summit 2026, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, said the country has re-emerged as Africa’s leading destination for oil and gas investments.
Between 2024 and 2025, four of the seven major final investment decisions announced across the continent were taken in Nigeria, underscoring a strong return of investor confidence after years of declining production and stalled projects.
The resurgence, according to the minister, is driven by deliberate reforms, clearer policies, and stronger governance, notably the full implementation of the Petroleum Industry Law, which has stabilized fiscal terms and improved regulatory certainty.
Additional measures, including cost-efficiency incentives introduced in 2025 and the launch of the One Million Barrel Project in October 2024, have boosted crude output to between 1.7 and 1.83 million barrels per day, about 20 percent higher than previous levels.
Nigeria has also seen a sharp rise in drilling activity and the completion of long-delayed asset sales by international oil companies to local firms, adding around 200,000 barrels per day to national production and reinforcing the country’s renewed position on the global energy investment map.
