Energy

As Africa’s largest oil producer, Nigeria’s energy sector accounts for 90% of exports and at least 50% of government revenues. The country is second only to Libya on the continent in the size of its reserves, and onshore fields have been productive for decades. Offshore deposits are a frontier that has been massively underexplored, and in recent years international oil companies have started to refocus their efforts there. That has left an opening on land, which local start-ups have filled. New and smaller indigenous companies are buying up onshore blocks from the global giants, investing in fresh capacity, and increasingly shaping the sector and its future. Under the current government, a number of substantial moves have been planned – all of which, if executed, could significantly modernise the hydrocarbons industry for one of the world’s largest producers.

This chapter contains interviews with Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, Minister of State, Petroleum Resources and former Chairman of the Board, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation; and Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo, Secretary-General, Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.