Government seeks private capital for Nigeria’s refining and gas expansion
The Federal Government has called for increased private investment in refining, gas processing, pipelines, storage and logistics, saying rising crude production must be matched by infrastructure. Officials said reforms were intended to improve regulatory certainty, but warned that financing costs, market volatility and infrastructure gaps continued to deter investors.
The Federal Government has urged private investors to increase participation in Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum sectors, saying growth in crude production must be matched by investment across the wider energy value chain. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil) Heineken Lokpobiri made the call at the inaugural 2026 Petroleum Technology Development Fund Journal Summit in Abuja. The event focused on private-sector participation in midstream and downstream petroleum activities.
Lokpobiri, represented by his technical adviser Emmanuel Sinime, said crude production had risen from about one million barrels per day in 2023 to more than 1.7 million barrels per day. He also said the number of active drilling rigs had increased from about 14 to more than 60. The minister said higher production would have limited benefits without infrastructure to transport, store, refine and distribute petroleum products efficiently.
He cited the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the expansion of modular refineries, including Waltersmith and Aradel, as examples of the potential contribution of private investment. He said ongoing industry reforms were intended to restore investor confidence, improve regulatory certainty and create conditions for sustainable private capital. The government’s role, he added, was to establish policy and regulatory conditions while ensuring transparency and accountability.
Lokpobiri said work through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority included improving domestic gas pricing, creating rules against anti-competitive practices and promoting fair access to pipelines, depots and terminals. However, he identified infrastructure deficits, high logistics costs, regulatory uncertainty, market volatility and financing difficulties as obstacles. He said the success of regulation should ultimately be judged by the businesses and investment it generated.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) Ekperikpe Ekpo said private capital was also essential to developing gas processing, transportation, distribution, liquefied petroleum gas, compressed natural gas and petrochemical industries. He said the Petroleum Industry Act and the Decade of Gas Initiative provided frameworks for investment. PTDF Executive Secretary Shuaibu Aliyu said the summit was intended to turn research and technical discussions into practical industry solutions.
He urged stronger links among researchers, universities and operators so that research could be applied commercially.
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