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Stakeholders in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, under the aegis of the Nigerian Institute of Petroleum and Gas Engineers (NIPetGE), have called for policies and regulations to de-risk the sector and promote the participation of indigenous companies amid divestment by International Oil Companies (IOCs).
Speaking at the 2025 Annual Conference of the Institute, Pedro Omotuemhem, partner, PwC Limited, emphasised that local producers play a pivotal role in sustaining Nigeria’s hydrocarbon output.
He said policy reforms must de-risk local participation through improved access to finance, infrastructural development, and enhanced regulatory stability.
Omotuemhem called for indigenous innovation and digitally enabled field operations to enhance productivity while maintaining environmental compliance.
Also speaking, Godwin Onwubolu, representative of Oando Clean Energy Ltd., stressed the need to focus on strategic specialisation within Nigeria’s oil and gas value chain as a pathway to global competitiveness. He underscored the vulnerability of the national industry to the global energy transition and emphasised the need for deep technical specialisation in upstream and midstream services.
He also advocated industrial consolidation through mergers and acquisitions to achieve operational critical mass, as well as government incentives to promote technology transfer, research and development (R&D), and human capital repatriation.
He said, “specialisation fosters mastery, productivity, and innovation, enabling local companies to dominate niche markets and export high-value services.”
He recommended a national framework for indigenous technology development, an Energy Transition Survival Fund, and policy-driven support for domestic manufacturing of critical equipment during and beyond the energy transition phase.
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For Chinedu Ogwus, there is a need for Nigeria to adopt a National Intelligent Energy Infrastructure Policy, strengthen digital capacity development, and incentivize public-private partnerships (PPPs) for technological scaling.
He noted the importance of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Digital Twins, and Autonomous Robotics in transforming upstream and downstream operations globally.
He said, “AI-driven predictive maintenance has reduced equipment downtime and emissions by up to 90 percent. Autonomous drones and robots (such as Chevron’s Spot and Percepto Air Max OGI systems) are revolutionising methane detection and repair; IoT monitoring enhances real-time emission tracking and compliance reporting.”
