Nigeria attracting fresh oil investments amid US-Iran tensions — Lokpobiri
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, says rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have sparked renewed interest from foreign investors seeking opportunities in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
Speaking on Thursday in Abuja at the inauguration of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT) Door-to-Door Movement, Lokpobiri said countries across Europe and Asia were approaching Nigeria to invest in the sector, attributing the growing confidence to reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
According to the minister, the government’s policy reforms and investment incentives have positioned Nigeria as an attractive destination for global energy investors.
“Following the crisis in the Gulf region of the world, between Iran and the USA, countries from Asia, Japan have been to us, countries from Europe, countries from across the world are coming to Nigeria with a view to investing in Nigeria,” Lokpobiri said.
“The President has created the enabling environment. The President has given the best of incentives that can be comparable to any climate in the world for these investments to come.”
Lokpobiri said Nigeria’s crude oil production has increased significantly since Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, rising from about one million barrels per day to 1.82 million barrels per day.
“When the President came into office, and I was appointed as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), we were barely doing one million barrels a day,” he said.
He attributed the increase in output to improved collaboration between security agencies and civilian security contractors in tackling crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
