The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has assured investors that Nigeria will continue to strengthen its legal and regulatory framework to provide certainty for investments in the country’s energy sector, building on the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

Lokpobiri gave the assurance at the just-concluded Lawyers in Energy International Conference 2026 organised by the Lawyers in Energy Network in Lagos.

He added that the Federal Government was committed to building a transparent, predictable and enforceable legal environment to support the country’s energy transition and sustain investor confidence.

Lokpobiri, represented by the Director of Legal Services in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Terlumun Tyendezwa, said Nigeria’s energy transition must be driven by laws and regulations that provide certainty for investors while supporting the country’s climate commitments.

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He said the Federal Government was determined to shape Nigeria’s energy transition on its own terms by ensuring that the sector operates within a transparent, predictable and enforceable legal framework.

According to him, the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has laid a solid legal foundation for the sector, while regulators have continued to develop rules that provide greater clarity for both upstream and downstream operators.

Lokpobiri stressed that legal certainty was indispensable to investment decisions, noting that sound policies alone would not attract capital unless they were backed by effective implementation.

“The energy sector must be governed by a framework that is transparent, predictable and enforceable. What this means in practice is that there is clarity in our legal framework,” he said.

He added that investor confidence depends on certainty created by law and regulation.

The minister noted that Nigeria had already demonstrated its commitment to climate action through the Climate Change Act and the establishment of a carbon credit framework.

According to him, these initiatives provide incentives for investors and assure businesses that Nigeria remains a stable destination for long-term investments.

He warned that decisions taken today by lawmakers, regulators and legal practitioners would shape Nigeria’s energy future for generations.

Lokpobiri reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to strengthening regulatory institutions, deepening stakeholder engagement and improving the country’s legal framework to protect investors, host communities and the public.

He urged participants at the conference to use the gathering to address difficult issues confronting the sector and contribute practical solutions for Nigeria’s energy future.

In his keynote address delivered virtually, the Secretary-General of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation, Farid Ghezali, said regulatory stability, fiscal clarity, contract sanctity, environmental standards and policy consistency had become as important as resource potential in attracting investment.

“The global energy transition has fundamentally changed how investors evaluate destinations, with regulatory stability, fiscal clarity, contract sanctity, environmental standards and policy consistency becoming as important as resource potential.

“In this new reality, geology is no longer enough,” said Ghezali, who described regulatory uncertainty as Africa’s biggest hidden tax and harmonisation as its biggest untapped incentive.

He said investors currently faced more than 50 different legal and regulatory systems across Africa’s petroleum industry, increasing transaction costs, delaying projects and diverting capital to regions with more predictable legal environments.

“Harmonisation does not remove sovereignty; it multiplies it. It turns individual efforts into continental strength,” he added.

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Lawyers in Energy Network, George Etomi, said lawyers would play a decisive role in helping countries achieve their 2060 net-zero targets through stronger legal and regulatory frameworks.

“As lawyers and energy professionals, we have a vital role to play in shaping the legal and regulatory architecture that will support sustainable investment, encourage innovation, manage disputes and promote responsible energy development,” Etomi said.

Founder and Executive Secretary of the Lawyers in Energy Network, Raqueebah Oloko, said the conference examined the legal and regulatory reforms required to help African countries navigate the global energy transition without sacrificing their development priorities.

The UTM Offshore Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) Project has afforded Nigeria a once-in-a-generation opportunity of transforming her maritime economy, strengthening indigenous shipping, and capturing billions of naira in economic value that has historically flowed offshore.

These views were expressed by a shipping professional and Executive Director of Seamate Maritime Integrated Services Limited, Captain Ladi Olubowale, in a statement titled: “Beyond Gas: Why the UTM Offshore FLNG Project Should Launch Nigeria’s Maritime Industrial Revolution”.

He added that Nigeria has spoken for decades about unlocking the full value of its oil and gas resources.

“Yet one fundamental question has remained unanswered: Who captures the wealth created after the oil and gas leave our shores? This question is becoming even more important as Nigeria enters a new era of gas development under the Federal Government’s Decade of Gas Initiative.

“The UTM Offshore FLNG Project Nigeria’s first indigenous-led FLNG development is rightly celebrated as a landmark investment. It will monetise stranded gas resources, increase LNG exports, create jobs, strengthen government revenues, and reinforce Nigeria’s position in the global energy market.

“However, its greatest contribution may lie beyond gas production itself. The question before us is simple: Will Nigeria merely export LNG, or will we build an entire maritime economy around it? That decision will define whether this project becomes another successful energy investment or the catalyst for a new era of industrial development,” he pointed out.

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On the missing link in Nigeria’s energy economy, he said that every offshore energy project depends on ships, saying that before the first molecule of gas is exported, vessels are already at work transporting equipment, supporting offshore construction, delivering supplies, transferring personnel, protecting offshore assets, conducting inspections, responding to emergencies, and maintaining continuous operations.

Without ships, offshore energy production stops.

According to him, despite Nigeria’s position as Africa’s leading oil and gas producer, much of this critical maritime support continues to be provided by foreign-owned fleets.

“This means that while Nigeria earns revenue from its natural resources, a significant share of the logistics, charter hire, marine services, technical management, and offshore transportation revenues leaves our economy. In economic terms, we continue to export commodities while importing capabilities. That model is no longer sustainable. The real opportunity is the value chain,” he added.

However, he said that the UTM FLNG Project should not simply be viewed as an LNG facility but it should become the anchor project for Nigeria’s maritime industrial transformation.

“Every successful maritime nation understands one principle: Natural resources create wealth only when nations own the value chain that supports them. Norway did not become a global maritime powerhouse simply because it discovered offshore oil. It deliberately built Norwegian-owned offshore service companies, engineering firms, maritime financial institutions, ship management expertise, and highly skilled seafarers”.

“Qatar did not become one of the world’s leading LNG exporters by producing gas “alone. It invested heavily in Nakilat, one of the world’s largest LNG shipping companies, ensuring that transport became an integral part of national value creation.

Singapore built one of the world’s strongest economies without significant natural resources by mastering shipping, ports, finance, and logistics. These countries understood that controlling maritime logistics is not merely about ships—it is about economic sovereignty,” he explained.

He added that Nigeria must embrace the same vision because it is very important as Nigeria possesses over 200 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves and one of Africa’s largest offshore energy industries.

“The federal government has rightly declared this the Decade of Gas. But gas alone will not transform our economy. Transformation comes from building industries around gas. The UTM FLNG Project creates precisely that opportunity.

Its development and long-term operation will require a broad range of offshore support vessels, marine logistics services, crew transfer operations, emergency response capabilities, security patrols, marine engineering, subsea support, and technical maintenance,” he said.

He warned that the UTM Offshore FLNG Project should not stand alone as an energy project, and it should become the foundation of Nigeria’s maritime industrial revolution.

“Every molecule of gas exported should generate Nigerian freight, Nigerian jobs, Nigerian financing, Nigerian ship management, Nigerian insurance, Nigerian seafarers, and Nigerian prosperity.

“The measure of our success will not be how much gas we export, but how much national wealth we retain. Nations become maritime powers not by owning cargo alone, but by owning the ships, the supply chains, the technology, and the institutions that move commerce. Nigeria now has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build that future.

“We must seize it, not simply to serve one FLNG project, but to establish a Strategic National Fleet that will carry Nigeria’s economic ambitions across Africa and the world,” he explained.

In a big boost to the development of Nigerian content in oil and gas operations, Shell Companies in Nigeria awarded contracts worth $518 million to indigenous companies in 2025.

Biztellers reports that in the same vein, some 123 indigenous companies were engaged across the value chain of Shell businesses in Nigeria in the same period.

“The payments show a strong support for Nigerian service providers in our operations,” said Vice President Commercial Rohan D’Souza while commenting on the figures recently published in Shell’s 2025 Payments to Governments Report. “We see the development of Nigeria companies beyond compliance with laws. It is an integral part of a longstanding strategy to create a win-win relationship with indigenous companies and support them to create more value in the oil and gas industry within and outside the country.”

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Over the years, Nigerian companies have provided technical and logistics services among many others with Shell businesses supporting them to improve their expertise and processes.

About a fortnight ago, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd (SNEPCo) launched a $3-billion Contract Finance Facility with nine leading Nigerian banks to support indigenous contractors to execute contracts in its operations. The fund will be available in both Naira and USD to be utilised by the contractors.

Rohan pointed out: “When you consider the fact that Shell also paid some $2.016 billion through production entitlements, royalties, taxes, and statutory fees to the Nigerian Government in 2025 alone, you get an idea of the enduring partnership we have forged in the country since we set foot here more than 60 years ago.”