FG, Regulators Must Stabilise Oil Sector To Unlock Fresh Investment — PENGASSAN

The federal government and regulators must provide a predictable, transparent and efficient regulatory environment to attract fresh capital, increase oil and gas production and sustain jobs in Nigeria’s petroleum industry, president of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Comrade Festus Osifo, has said.

Osifo spoke at the 5th PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Summit (2026) in Abuja on Wednesday, where he called for stronger collaboration among government, regulators, operators, investors and organised labour to address regulatory uncertainty and create conditions for long-term investment in the sector.

The summit, organised around the theme, “Strengthening Regulatory Frameworks as a Catalyst for Stability and Growth in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry,” focused on regulation, investment, production, energy security and workforce protection.

Osifo said the capital-intensive nature of the oil and gas industry made regulatory certainty critical to investment decisions, warning that frequent rule changes could undermine investor confidence.

He noted that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 represented a major reform milestone, but expressed concern over subsequent changes to aspects of the framework, including the movement of some fiscal provisions to the Nigeria Revenue Act and amendments through executive orders.

According to him, overlapping mandates among regulatory and government institutions could also increase the burden on operators through repetitive approvals, inspections and conflicting directives.

He urged regulators to streamline approval processes without compromising safety, environmental standards or operational integrity, stressing that Nigeria needed “smarter regulations” rather than weaker ones.

“Investors need clear rules. Operators need predictability. Workers need protection.

Regulation should never become an obstacle to investment, but investment should never become an excuse for weak standards. There must be a balance.”

“The life of a Nigerian worker must never become the price we pay for increased production.

Without investment, there will be no project. Without a project, there will be no sustainable jobs. Without production, there will be no revenue. And without fairness and stability, none of these can endure,” he said.

The labour leader also linked regulatory stability to employment protection, particularly amid acquisitions and divestments in the industry.

He said workers’ pensions, collective bargaining agreements and other established rights must be protected when oil and gas assets change ownership.

Osifo further called for stricter enforcement of Nigeria’s local content policy, particularly in the administration of employment and the expatriate quota.

He said foreign expertise should address genuine skill gaps, while expatriate positions should be tied to measurable knowledge transfer and succession plans.

He said Nigeria’s oil and gas resources could support domestic refining, gas processing, LPG, CNG, LNG, power generation, petrochemicals and fertiliser production, but argued that investment was required to convert resources into broader economic value.

The PENGASSAN president said increased production should be accompanied by stronger occupational safety and labour standards, warning that workers should not bear the cost of efforts to raise output.

He also stressed the importance of industrial harmony, describing it as more than the absence of strikes or disputes and linking sustainable productivity to justice, communication, mutual respect and shared prosperity.