Nigeria emerged as a leading destination for upstream investment in Africa, securing three out of four major Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) on the continent in 2024, Olu Arowolo Verheijen, Special Adviser to the President on Energy, has revealed.

Speaking at the 2025 Practical Nigerian Content (PNC) Forum held at the Nigerian Content Tower in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Verheijen highlighted the country’s growing competitiveness and the central role of local content in driving industrialisation and project efficiency.

“Across Africa, the energy landscape is shifting,” she said. “Capital is more selective. Project economics face global competition. Investors are demanding speed, reliability, and clarity of execution. In this environment, local content is not a patriotic slogan—it is an industrial strategy. It must unlock value, reduce cost, shorten timelines, and boost national competitiveness. And above all, it must deliver projects at scale.”

Verheijen attributed Nigeria’s recent successes to reforms driven by Presidential Directives 41 and 42, designed to eliminate bottlenecks, reduce contracting costs, and reposition Nigeria from a perceived high-risk jurisdiction to one of the most attractive upstream destinations in Africa.

She emphasised that seamless project delivery is a shared mandate, requiring coordinated efforts from government, operators, financiers, and host communities.

“Seamless project delivery is a shared mandate. Government alone cannot carry this ambition. Nor can operators, financiers, or host communities succeed in isolation. The competitive advantage we seek in Africa and globally requires a coordinated ecosystem of execution,” she said.

The Presidential aide also stressed the importance of targeted in-country value addition, advocating for the development of local capacity, skills, and industrial infrastructure in strategic segments of the energy sector. She highlighted historic onshore asset transfers from international oil companies (IOCs) to indigenous operators as a symbol of Nigeria’s growing technical maturity and domestic capital formation.

“Today, Nigerian companies are not only taking over these assets—they are optimizing them, investing in technology, restoring production, and strengthening community and security relationships in ways that were not previously possible. This is Nigerian content at its most tangible expression: Nigerian expertise managing Nigerian assets to deliver Nigerian value. Let us anchor our energy sector not only on resource rents, but on industrial growth, jobs, capacity-building, and generational wealth creation. Together, we must make in-country value addition not a slogan, but a deliberate strategic imperative,” Verheijen said.

She further cited examples of successful local content implementation, including SHI-MCI’s fabrication yards, Waltersmith’s modular refining projects, the NLNG Train 7 project, and the Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme, noting that in-country value retention has increased from 5 percent at the inception of the NOGICD Act to 56 percent today.

Looking ahead, Verheijen pointed to upcoming upstream projects with Shell and TotalEnergies, including HI, Bonga North, and Ubeta, urging stakeholders to deepen local capacity and remove remaining barriers to project speed and execution. She outlined Nigeria’s national ambition to achieve three million barrels of oil per day and 10 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day by 2030.

“Nigeria’s energy trajectory is more secure today than it has been in years. Under President Tinubu’s leadership, we have made difficult decisions and unlocked reforms long overdue. But now is the moment to consolidate momentum—not slow down. Because ultimately, this is not just about upstream performance or investment cycles. It is about building a globally competitive energy economy for Africa. It is about positioning Nigerian companies to serve the continent. It is about transforming natural resources into national prosperity,” she said.

The forum, organised by DMG Events and hosted by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), continues to serve as a platform for stakeholders to discuss practical strategies for advancing Nigerian content and building a globally competitive energy sector.