The President/Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies worldwide, Patrick Pouyanne, says the company is ready to invest billions of dollars in Nigeria by participating in the ongoing oil bid round in the country.
Pouyanne stated this recently when he visited the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Gbenga Komolafe, at the commission’s headquarters in Jabi, Abuja.
This is coming a few months after the CEO said he had snubbed Nigeria to invest $6bn in Angola.
In a statement, the NUPRC said the meeting focused on key issues surrounding divestment, investment, and regulatory consent, addressing ongoing initiatives related to the Shell Petroleum Development Company Joint Venture deal which covered the deal’s current status and its potential implications for future investment opportunities in Nigeria’s Upstream petroleum sector.
The TotalEnergies boss was said to have expressed his company’s interest in exploring additional investment opportunities in Nigeria.
“He informed the CCE that TotalEnergies has registered for the current bid round, signalling its commitment to exploring new opportunities and gaining insight into the NUPRC’s perspective on the process. These include the commission’s approach to contract types and the necessity of partnerships within the bidding framework,“ the statement noted.
According to the NUPRC, other areas of interest for TotalEnergies include Nigeria’s domestic crude oil supply obligations. The aim is to strengthen operational efficiencies and align with mutual objectives between the company and NUPRC.
“Mr Pouyanne also noted his company’s interest in the regulatory aspects of decommissioning and abandonment, crucial components as Nigeria seeks to modernise its upstream petroleum landscape.
“The TotalEnergies CEO also commended NUPRC for the restoration of investors’ confidence in the Nigerian upstream sector and promised billions of USD investment and participation in the 2024 licensing round,“ the commission added.
Komolafe highlighted the NUPRC’s commitment to fostering a favourable business environment.
He emphasised that as an enabler of business under the Petroleum Industry Act, the NUPRC is developing new regulations designed to streamline operations, encourage foreign investments, and simplify business processes in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
In May, Pouyanne told the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, that the company was investing $6bn in energy projects in Angola over Nigeria, citing inconsistency in policy making in Nigeria as the primary reason for this decision.
During the Africa CEO panel in Kigali, Rwanda, Pouyanne said despite the Niger Delta’s status as West Africa’s most productive region, the volatile policy landscape has rendered investments unsustainable, adding that the company has not conducted oil exploration in the region for 12 years.
“Nigeria loves to open topics without closing them. You love to debate. There is always a new legislature in Nigeria about a new petroleum law. When you have such permanent debates, it’s difficult for investors looking for long-term structure to know what direction to go.
“In reality, the Niger Delta is the most prolific part of West Africa. But if you look at what happened, because of these debates, there has not been a single exploration in Nigeria for 12 years. It’s important to have a debate and then settle it and put a framework on the table that investors can trust.
“We have countries that have perfectly integrated policies like Angola. So, we went to Angola and announced a very large $6bn project at the beginning of the week (in May) because their framework is stable. So we know where we go,” the TotalEnergies boss said five months ago.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
