Cape Town: Nigeria is preparing to highlight its recent executive order reforms and emerging investment opportunities at the upcoming African Energy Week (AEW) 2025. The event, sponsored by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), will take place in Cape Town from September 29 to October 3. During the conference, senior policymakers and industry leaders will discuss the extent of these reforms and how they are reshaping Nigeria’s investment landscape, offering new prospects across the upstream, midstream, and downstream value chains.
According to African Press Organization, the event will feature speakers such as Olu Verheijen, Special Advisor to the President of Nigeria on Energy; Arthur Ename, Vice President of Business Development, Africa, at NOV; Nosa Omorodion, Country Director at SLB Nigeria; Alex Irune, Executive Director of Oando and Managing Director of Oando Energy Resources; a senior representative from ExxonMobil; and Philip Mshelbila, Managing Director and CEO of Nigeria LNG (NLNG). The roundtable discussions will provide high-level insights into the ongoing regulatory reset and its implications for investors interested in expanding or entering the Nigerian market.
The Executive Order, signed in April 2025, focuses on cost efficiency and fiscal competitiveness in upstream operations. It introduces performance-based tax credits for oil and gas companies achieving verifiable reductions in project costs. Under the framework, operators meeting annual cost-reduction benchmarks set by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission can retain 50% of the incremental government revenue generated by their efficiency gains, with total credits capped at 20% of their annual tax liability.
The private sector is anticipated to play a pivotal role in this next phase. Companies such as SLB and NOV are aligning their strategies with the government’s push for localization, efficiency, and innovation. Meanwhile, firms like Oando are expanding their portfolios to adapt to the changing realities in the post-Petroleum Industry Act landscape. With enhanced policy stability and a deliberate focus on sector transformation, Nigeria is reaffirming its status as one of Africa’s most strategic hydrocarbon hubs.