Reducing Africa’s $120bn Hydrocarbon Import Cost Needs Regional Unity – Lokporibi

The minister of state for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, has emphasised that regional integration and harmonisation of standards remain key to reducing Africa’s $120 billion annual hydrocarbon import bill.

Speaking at the Africa Oil Week (AOW) 2025 Ministerial and CEO Leadership Forum, Lokpobiri reaffirmed Nigeria’s leadership role in advancing the continent’s energy security and called for deeper regional integration among African countries to tackle the continent’s energy challenges.

Lokpobiri stressed that integration remains the most effective strategy to end Africa’s energy poverty, noting that shared infrastructure, harmonised standards, and technical expertise will enable the continent to secure its energy future.

He highlighted Africa’s heavy reliance on imports, revealing that the continent spends over $120 billion annually on hydrocarbon imports. “This is capital flight. These funds should remain within Africa to fuel our own development priorities,” the Minister stated.

According to him, the real challenge is not access to capital but the lack of aligned regulatory frameworks and fiscal regimes.

He stressed that investors seek stability and predictability, so African countries must align their policies to attract long-term investment.

“Investors make long-term decisions based on stability and predictability. Africa must harmonise its policies to attract and retain investment,” he said.

As part of Nigeria’s leadership drive, Sen. Lokpobiri announced the creation of a West African Reference Market (WARM)—an initiative to leverage Nigeria’s growing refining capacity to supply petroleum products across West Africa and beyond.

On the global energy transition, he clarified that the Paris Agreement does not require abandoning fossil fuels, but rather a reduction in emissions. “Africa contributes only three per cent of global CO₂. We cannot lead an energy transition when we don’t even have energy. Our priority must be to responsibly harness our abundant resources to power growth,” he added.

Sen. Lokpobiri urged African nations to unite around a shared purpose: “Africa has the market, the population, and the resources. We need to keep value within our continent and finance our own energy future.”