Nigeria is expected to attract between $30 billion and $50 billion in investments into 22 major offshore oil and gas projects by 2030, according to a new industry report.
The report by Industrial Info Resources said the projects are part of more than 800 active oil and gas developments being tracked across Africa, with their combined investment value exceeding $221 billion.
Nigeria is expected to take a major share of the investment, with the country’s upstream regulator identifying 22 offshore projects that could begin between now and 2030.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, had earlier disclosed that the commission approved more than $57 billion in field development plans since 2024.
Eyesan made the disclosure at the Society of Petroleum Engineers annual conference in Lagos on August 5, saying some of the approved projects had already reached final investment decisions.
Industrial Info Resources’ Senior Vice-President of Research, Oil and Gas, Gordon Gorrie, said the next 12 to 18 months would be significant for Africa’s large-scale oil and gas developments.
According to him, several projects that have faced delays despite receiving approval are expected to move closer to production.
He said most of the projected investment would be directed towards offshore oil developments, while part of the funding would support new liquefied natural gas projects.
Gorrie also linked the renewed investor interest in Africa’s energy sector to growing concerns over global energy security and geopolitical tensions.
The report identified major developments in Mozambique as part of Africa’s expanding energy investment pipeline. TotalEnergies’ Mozambique LNG project, with a planned capacity of 12.9 million tonnes per year, is expected to be completed in 2030.
ExxonMobil is also expected to make a final investment decision in 2026 on its 18-million-tonne-per-year Rovuma LNG project in Mozambique.
For Africa as a whole, oil and gas investment was estimated at $41 billion, while crude production was projected at 11.4 million barrels per day.
Nigeria’s crude production reportedly increased to 1.71 million barrels per day between April 2025 and April 2026.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has also projected that the country could increase its production by another 100,000 barrels per day before the end of 2026.
One of the major projects expected to contribute to Nigeria’s production growth is Shell’s Bonga/Southwest/Aparo deepwater development. The project is expected to produce about 150,000 barrels of crude oil per day when completed.
The Federal Government has meanwhile continued to introduce measures aimed at attracting more investment into the oil and gas industry, including executive orders signed by President Bola Tinubu to improve the sector’s investment environment.
