Experts To Deliberate On Nigeria’s Energy Security Amid Policy

Key energy industry stakeholders and regulatory bodies would take cursory look at ongoing development in Nigeria’s downstream and midstream petroleum industry amid fiscal reforms of the present administration during an energy summit holding in Lagos.
The event would provide the platform for energy analysts to dissect these policies and also proffer solutions that will address challenges dragging back growth of the sector.

According to the minister of state, Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, Nigeria is fast tracking efforts to transform the country’s gas resources to increasingly serve as a catalyst for industrialisation, power generation, transportation, manufacturing, fertiliser production, LPG adoption and other productive activities across our economy.

Speaking at the 2026 energy conference of the Nigeria Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC) with the theme,”

Access to Assets: Empowering Players and Driving Growth” the Minister represented by his Technical Adviser, Engr. Abel Nsa, said currently the Federal Government has continued to prioritise critical gas infrastructure. 

He listed some of the initiative to include the AKK and OB3 Gas Pipelines which he described as critical to strengthening the national gas network and connecting supply with major demand centres. 

He said the ongoing transformation is considered essential as infrastructure is the bridge between our resources and the industries, power plants, businesses and households that need them.

The 2026 edition of OTL Africa Downstream Energy Week, under the theme “Secure Energy, Shared Prosperity.” will address a central question for African economies.
These include how the continent can translate its energy resources, growing refining capacity and expanding markets into dependable supply, competitive businesses and tangible benefits for consumers.

The anniversary edition comes at a consequential moment for Africa’s energy industry.
Changing petroleum trade flows, geopolitical uncertainty, foreign-exchange pressures and the cost of finance continue to test supply resilience. At the same time, investment in refining, gas, storage, logistics and emerging energy solutions presents opportunities to strengthen African production, deepen regional trade and retain more economic value within the continent.

Africa’s energy security must be measured by what businesses and households experience: reliable supply, assured quality and costs that allow enterprise and everyday life to thrive.
The theme, ‘Secure Energy, Shared Prosperity,’ connects those needs with the investment, innovation and cooperation required to meet them. OTL 2026 will bring the people who shape these outcomes into the same room.

Regional energy market integration will be a central focus.
Discussions will examine how greater regulatory cooperation, compatible product standards, efficient trade corridors and improved infrastructure can connect African markets.
LEADERSHIP reports that the programme will also explore the opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area to strengthen petroleum-products trade and support industrial development.

Nigeria’s changing downstream market will receive particular attention through a session on “Competition in Nigeria’s New Downstream Market: Balancing Market Power, Investment and Consumer Protection. The discussion will examine how the market can encourage investment and domestic refining while sustaining fair competition, efficient distribution and consumer confidence.

Investment must deliver value across the energy chain. Refiners need dependable feedstock and access to markets; traders and marketers need predictable rules and efficient logistics; consumers need quality products and reliable supply. Bringing these interests together is essential to building a competitive industry that supports shared prosperity.

The conference programme will further address regulatory convergence in African oil and gas markets; developments in West African fuels markets; integrated petroleum operations; and Africa’s energy outlook. Specialist sessions will examine feedstock strategy and refinery competitiveness, future forecourt solutions and changing customer behaviour, gas and renewables infrastructure, and opportunities in lubricants and petrochemicals.

Dedicated finance and logistics forums will consider how to mobilise capital for energy businesses and infrastructure, improve tanker shipping and product distribution, and strengthen resilience against supply disruptions.
Across these discussions, the emphasis will be on practical commercial and policy responses to Africa’s energy needs.

Alongside the conference, the OTL trade exhibition will provide a platform for companies to showcase products, technologies and services, meet prospective customers and develop partnerships across refining, trading, shipping, storage, logistics, retail, gas and related industries.

The anniversary programme includes the 20th Anniversary Industry Dinner and Awards, the Founders’ Fireside Forum, networking engagements and a scheduled Dangote Refinery tour. These activities will combine recognition of the industry’s achievements with opportunities to examine its future.

Since its inception in 2007, OTL Africa Downstream Energy Week has provided a sustained platform for industry dialogue, business development and engagement between public institutions and private enterprise.

The conference is coming during the period that Nigeria’s frontier basin is turning into a major attraction to oil exploration Companies as the country opens new field opportunities to interested domestic and foreign investors.
The success in the upstream sector is key to driving activities in both the downstream and midstream sectors of the petroleum industry. 

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) the upstream industry regulatory agency said it is targeting the recovery of more than 788,000 barrels of crude oil per day from shut-in production, while pushing to attract between $30bn and $50bn into offshore projects.

The Commission Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this while speaking at the annual conference of the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria in Lagos on Thursday.

Eyesan disclosed that the Anambra Basin, Benue Trough, Chad Basin and Benin Basin attracted serious investor interest for the first time, stressing that the development showed that investors were looking beyond the Niger Delta.

“For the first time in our history, our frontier basins, the Anambra Basin, the Benue Trough, the Chad Basin and the Benin Basin, attracted serious investor interest. That tells me the world is looking at the whole of Nigeria, not only the Niger Delta,” she noted.