Nigeria has reclaimed its position as the leading destination for energy capital in Sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for 38 percent of all major project sanctions on the continent over the past 24 months.
The Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, disclosed this in a post shared on X on Thursday, noting that Nigeria attracted $5.3 billion in upstream capital investment in 2025 alone.
According to Verheijen, this performance was achieved despite an 18 percent decline in upstream spending across Sub-Saharan Africa during the year. She said only two Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) were recorded across the region in 2025, with Nigeria securing one.
“The Nigerian FID was for the Shell–Sunlink HI Field project (OML 144), a shallow-water, non-associated gas development”, she said.
Verheijen explained that the project reached FID following the introduction of Nigeria’s Non-Associated Gas (NAG) incentives in 2024, which restored its commercial viability and unlocked critical gas supply for Nigeria LNG (NLNG).
She further provided historical context, noting that between 2015 and 2023, Nigeria accounted for just four per cent, about $5 billion of sanctioned African FIDs, representing six of 44 projects.
However, over the last two years, the country has secured 38 percent of sanctioned projects on the continent, amounting to about $8 billion across five of the eight projects approved during the period.
Verheijen attributed the turnaround to reforms implemented over the past 24 months, saying Nigeria now offers some of the most competitive deep-water fiscal terms globally, as well as the most attractive gas terms in Africa.
She stated that additional FIDs are expected in 2026, supported by targeted incentives and a stable investor-focused policy framework.
RN
