Cranes at an oil rig facility in Lagos
Nigeria bullish about oil recovery
Efforts to restructure and boost investment appear to be working, but doubts remain about the plan to almost double crude production by 2030
Nigeria’s upstream is finally showing momentum after years of decline and regulatory uncertainty. Last year, three of four FIDs made by major oil firms in Africa were announced in the continent’s largest oil producer as President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda started to bear fruit. Domestic oil output has slumped by 40% since a peak of roughly 2.5m b/d in 2005. Fast forward 20 years, and the government has set the ambitious target of reviving liquids production to 3m b/d and gas to 12bcf/d by the end of the decade. “The targets are undoubtedly ambitious,” said David Thomson, vice-president of sub-Saharan Africa at consultancy Welligence Energy Analytics. “The resource is there but attracting s
Also in this section
1 April 2026
Golden Pass’s startup offers QatarEnergy a timely boost but may also force a difficult choice between honouring disrupted contracts and capitalising on soaring spot LNG prices
1 April 2026
It is not a case of if or when, but the length and magnitude of economic damage from elevated oil prices
1 April 2026
The US-Iran conflict demonstrates the need for diversification in several senses of the word. It also exposes the limits of Washington applying pressure on major oil and gas producers it considers geopolitical adversaries
31 March 2026
Disappointing results in its bidding round are a reality check for Libya, and global exploration generally
