NAICE 2026 Opens with Call for Collaboration, Innovation to Drive Nigeria’s Energy Future
By Joy Malizu
Pull Quote: “Nigeria’s energy future will be determined not only by the resources beneath our soil, but by how we develop technical solutions to our unique energy challenges, the quality of our leadership, the strength of our institutions, and our commitment to collaboration.” — Engr. Francis Nwaochei, Chairman, SPE Nigeria Council
LAGOS, Nigeria — The 49th Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition (NAICE 2026) opened in Lagos on Monday with a resounding call for stronger collaboration, innovation and policy consistency, as industry leaders urged stakeholders to leverage ongoing reforms to strengthen Nigeria’s position in the rapidly evolving global energy landscape.
Addressing delegates at the opening ceremony, Engr. Francis Nwaochei, Chairman of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigeria Council, said the country’s energy sector is at a defining moment where sustained reforms, technological advancement and strategic partnerships could unlock fresh investment, boost production and reinforce Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global energy market.
The conference, themed “Thriving in the Evolving Global Energy Landscape: Collaborative Growth and Resilience,” has drawn government officials, regulators, international and indigenous operators, service companies, investors, researchers, academics and energy professionals from across Nigeria and beyond to deliberate on the future of Africa’s largest energy industry.
“We gather at a defining moment for the global energy industry,” Nwaochei said, noting that governments and operators worldwide are under increasing pressure to simultaneously guarantee energy security, improve affordability, reduce emissions, deploy emerging technologies and attract long-term investment.
Against this backdrop, he argued that Nigeria possesses significant competitive advantages, including abundant hydrocarbon resources, an expanding gas economy, resilient indigenous operators, world-class technical expertise and an improving regulatory environment.
He cited the successful conclusion of the 2025 Licensing Round, which produced 31 successful companies across 37 oil and gas blocks, as evidence of renewed investor confidence and a more transparent licensing regime. He also highlighted the Federal Government’s Decade of Gas initiative and the proposed ₦4 trillion government-backed bond to settle verified obligations owed to power generation companies and gas suppliers as important measures to restore liquidity and strengthen confidence across the power and gas value chain.
According to Nwaochei, these initiatives complement broader efforts by the Federal Government, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to improve regulatory efficiency, attract investment, expand gas utilisation and grow Nigeria’s crude oil production capacity toward three million barrels per day by 2030.
He emphasised that resilience should not merely be viewed as the ability to withstand disruption, but as the capacity to adapt, innovate and create new opportunities for growth.
“Resilience is the ability to adapt without losing direction; to confront disruption with innovation; to respond to uncertainty with collaboration; and to convert challenges into new pathways for growth,” he said.
The SPE Nigeria Council Chairman further urged industry stakeholders to move beyond diagnosing problems and instead focus on practical, implementable solutions that will enhance Nigeria’s attractiveness as a global energy investment destination.
He noted that the SPE Nigeria Council, with more than 17,000 members spread across six sections and supported by over 50 active student chapters, has continued to provide one of Africa’s foremost platforms for technical exchange, executive dialogue, policy engagement, technology showcase and professional development through NAICE over the past five decades.
Running through Wednesday, NAICE 2026 features technical paper presentations, executive panel sessions, topical workshops, innovation commercialisation and pitch sessions, a technology exhibition, career development programmes, the Women Leadership Programme and extensive networking opportunities designed to strengthen collaboration across the energy value chain.
In one of the conference’s defining messages, Nwaochei reminded delegates that the country’s long-term success would depend less on the size of its natural resource endowment than on its ability to innovate and build enduring institutions.
“Nigeria’s energy future will be determined not only by the resources beneath our soil, but most importantly how we develop technical solutions that solve our own unique energy challenges, the quality of our leadership, the strength of our institutions, the clarity and stability of our policies, our willingness to innovate, and our commitment to collaboration,” he said.
Looking ahead, he announced that NAICE 2027 will mark the Golden Jubilee of the conference, with the landmark 50th edition scheduled for 2–4 August 2027, preceded by professional training courses from 31 July to 1 August 2027.
As Nigeria pursues ambitious targets for oil production growth, gas commercialisation and energy sector investment, discussions at NAICE 2026 are expected to shape policy conversations and business decisions that could influence the trajectory of the country’s energy industry in the years ahead.
