Gabon is advancing efforts to revitalise its upstream oil and gas sector, with plans to sign production-sharing contracts (PSCs) with major international operators BP and Exxon Mobil within the next six months. The announcement, made by the country’s Minister of Oil and Gas at an African energy conference in Paris, signals renewed momentum in Gabon’s strategy to attract global capital into its offshore hydrocarbon assets. Core Details According to government officials, both BP and ExxonMobil have already signed non-binding preliminary agreements with Gabon to explore offshore blocks along the country’s Atlantic coastline. The next phase involves transitioning these preliminary arrangements…
Author: Damilola Adeoye
Nigeria’s upstream oil and gas sector has attracted approximately $2.4 billion in new investment, signalling a measured return of capital into a segment that has faced prolonged underinvestment in recent years. The disclosure was made by Bashir Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, who linked the inflow to ongoing sector reforms and renewed investor engagement. The development comes at a time when Nigeria is seeking to stabilise production levels, rebuild investor confidence, and reposition its upstream segment within an evolving global energy landscape. In Details According to Ojulari, the $2.4 billion investment inflow reflects early…
Nigeria’s electricity market has long been defined by a central contradiction: a privatised generation landscape operating within a system still heavily reliant on public guarantees and a single bulk trader. At the 2025 African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS), a presentation by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc outlined a proposed transition away from this model. The introduction of a national energy exchange platform signals a potential structural shift; from a centrally intermediated system to a market-driven trading environment for electricity and gas. If implemented effectively, the initiative could redefine how power is priced, traded, and financed…
Nigeria has renewed its push for deeper regional cooperation across Africa’s gas sector, positioning cross-border integration as essential to unlocking the continent’s vast but underutilised natural gas resources. The call was made by Ekperikpe Ekpo, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), at a ministerial roundtable on regional gas development held in Abuja. The forum, convened with support from the World Bank and Nigeria’s Decade of Gas Secretariat, focused on accelerating implementation frameworks for gas-led industrialisation. At stake is a structural paradox: Africa holds significant gas reserves, yet energy access deficits remain widespread across the continent. Core Details Speaking at…
At the 2025 African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS), discussions on exploration technologies converged on a central constraint facing Africa’s resource economies: the gap between geological potential and commercially viable discovery. A presentation by GeoScan GmbH introduced an alternative model for early-stage exploration—one that combines satellite analytics, artificial intelligence, and non-invasive sensing to accelerate subsurface discovery. The proposition is direct: reduce the time, cost, and uncertainty associated with exploration, thereby unlocking investment across underexplored jurisdictions. For a continent where, in many cases, less than 5% of landmass has been systematically explored using modern techniques, the implications are structural.…
Nigeria’s financial sector is deepening its international reach as Zenith Bank Plc prepares to open a new branch in Manchester, expanding its presence in the United Kingdom and reinforcing financial infrastructure supporting Africa–Europe trade. The new branch is scheduled to be formally launched on March 17, with government officials, regulators, investors and business leaders from both Nigeria and the United Kingdom expected to attend the opening ceremony. The move reflects growing commercial engagement between African and European markets and signals the increasing role of African financial institutions in facilitating cross-border trade and investment flows. While Nigerian banks have historically established…
March 2, 2026 — Oil prices jumped sharply on Monday as escalatory hostilities involving the United States, Israel and Iran disrupted maritime oil movements through the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical energy transit corridor. Benchmark crude futures traded at multi-month highs amid heightened geopolitical risk, underscoring how conflict dynamics can swiftly reshape global energy markets. Market Moves: Prices and Trading Dynamics Brent crude futures rose to $82.37 per barrel in initial trading — the highest level since January 2025 — before moderating slightly, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbed above $70 per barrel in early Asian trade.…
Abuja / Lagos, February, 2026 — Nigeria’s crude oil production expanded in 2025, averaging 1.64 million barrels per day (mbpd) — up roughly 5.8 per cent from 1.55 mbpd the year before according to the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG). The increase, disclosed at the Nigeria International Energy Summit 2026 (NIES) in Abuja, reflects incremental upstream improvements and deeper participation by indigenous producers in the country’s petroleum value chain. Modest Growth Reflects Structural Shifts IPPG Chairman Adegbite Falade attributed the production increase to strengthened local capacity, gas infrastructure expansion and supportive policy reforms that have encouraged domestic operators to take…
Abuja / Lagos, February 17, 2026 — The Nigerian naira strengthened notably against the United States dollar on Monday, reflecting improved foreign exchange (FX) liquidity and growing market confidence after months of volatility. The rebound is evident across both official and parallel exchange segments, as supply conditions improved and macroeconomic signals evolved. Currency Gains Across Markets According to FX data on Monday, the naira appreciated to around ₦1,347.78 per US dollar on the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) — a marked improvement from the previous sessions where rates hovered around N1,355/$1. In parallel (black) market trading, where liquidity dynamics…
Abuja / Lagos, February 2026 — Abdul Samad Rabiu, Founder and Executive Chairman of BUA Group, has reiterated a strategic imperative for Nigeria and Africa: move decisively from raw resource extraction toward industrial transformation and value-added production. Speaking to business leaders and policymakers, Rabiu framed the shift as essential to job creation, foreign exchange stability and sustainable economic growth. From Extraction to Industrialisation: Key Messages Rabiu underscored that Africa’s longstanding reliance on the export of unprocessed raw materials has delivered limited developmental outcomes, particularly in terms of employment, technology transfer and balance-of-payments resilience. He argued that countries rich in natural…