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The minister, represented by his Technical Adviser, Engr. Emmanuel Sinime, attributed the development to major divestment transactions by international oil companies, which he said had created opportunities for indigenous operators to expand their participation in the upstream sector.

Lokpobiri said Nigeria’s crude oil production had risen from about one million barrels per day in 2023 to more than 1.7 million barrels per day.

He added that active drilling rigs had increased from about 14 to more than 60, while the country had attracted over $10 billion in foreign direct investment in recent years.

“Significant progress has also been made in restructuring the industry by completing major divestment transactions involving international oil companies.

“These transactions are creating great opportunities for indigenous operators who now account for more than 50 per cent of Nigerian crude oil production, a historic milestone for our industry,” he said.

However, Lokpobiri said increased crude production must be matched by adequate infrastructure, efficient transportation and storage systems, expanded refining capacity and a competitive market capable of delivering value to consumers and investors.

He identified the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the growing number of modular refineries, including Waltersmith and Aradel, as evidence of the impact of private-sector investment in the downstream sector.

Also speaking, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said private capital, technical expertise and innovation were critical to unlocking Nigeria’s gas resources.

Ekpo said the Federal Government was committed to creating an enabling environment for private-sector investment across the petroleum value chain, adding that the Petroleum Industry Act had provided a framework for regulatory certainty and institutional governance.

He said the Decade of Gas initiative was aimed at transforming Nigeria into a gas-powered industrial economy, with natural gas serving as a catalyst for industrialisation, job creation, energy security and economic diversification.

According to him, achieving the objective would require sustained investment in gas processing, transportation and distribution infrastructure, as well as liquefied petroleum gas, compressed natural gas, petrochemicals and other gas-based industries.

“The Federal Government cannot achieve this objective alone. We must continue to deepen collaboration with private investors, financial institutions, technology providers and other stakeholders to mobilise the capital and expertise required to deliver these projects,” Ekpo said.

He identified infrastructure gaps, high financing costs, project development risks, regulatory bottlenecks and inadequate access to reliable energy infrastructure as constraints to private-sector participation.

Ekpo also called for greater investment in indigenous technological capacity, local manufacturing and skills development.

Earlier, the Executive Secretary of PTDF, Prof. Shuaibu Aliyu, said the summit was designed to expand the role of the Petroleum Technology Development Journal beyond research publication to dialogue, collaboration and practical solutions for the petroleum industry.

He said growing private-sector investment in refining, gas processing, logistics, storage and petroleum product distribution presented opportunities for economic growth, job creation, technology development and local capacity building.

Aliyu said PTDF was particularly focused on ensuring that research outputs moved beyond publication to application, intellectual property development and commercialisation.

He called for stronger partnerships between industry and research institutions to address challenges relating to financing, infrastructure, regulatory certainty, access to technology, market efficiency and technical capacity.

In his keynote address, the Managing Director of Waltersmith Petroman Oil Limited, Mr Oladapo Filani, said PTDF had sponsored more than 15,639 scholars across various programmes and higher institutions, while supporting over 50,000 research projects and numerous collaborations with industry and higher institutions.

Filani said the challenge facing the sector was no longer merely producing skilled Nigerians, but retaining the expertise and creating opportunities for professionals to apply their knowledge to local problems.

He identified infrastructure deficits, human capital and technical capability gaps, financing, commercial viability and investment uncertainty as major challenges confronting the midstream and downstream sectors.

According to him, constraints in gas gathering and processing, pipelines, storage and terminals, refining support infrastructure and product logistics continued to affect the efficiency and investment economics of the industry.

He also identified pipeline vandalism, crude theft and integrity issues as factors disrupting supply, while limited gas processing and evacuation infrastructure continued to constrain gas monetisation.

Filani, however, noted that investments by the Federal Government and NNPC Limited in strategic infrastructure, including the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano, Oben-Oben and OB3 pipeline projects, were important steps towards strengthening Nigeria’s gas infrastructure.