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 Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals (DPRP) protects the Nigerian market from external price shocks, maintaining stable domestic fuel prices within a commercially acceptable range despite rising international gasoline prices, higher freight rates and tightening global supply conditions that are increasing costs for fuel importers across West Africa.

The above was set out in the latest market intelligence from S&P Global Commodity Insights, Biztellers can report.

According to the latest market intelligence published by S&P Global Commodity Insights, importers supplying the Nigerian market are becoming increasingly concerned over the sharp rise in international gasoline prices, with traders attributing the pressure to higher global product values and rising shipping costs.

Significantly, market participants told S&P that gasoline prices in Nigeria are effectively being “capped by Dangote prices”, limiting the ability of importers to pass on higher international costs to the domestic market.

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One trader noted that while Ghanaian specification gasoline currently commands higher premiums, Nigerian specification cargoes remain constrained because the DPRP has kept its coastal sales prices unchanged despite mounting international price pressures.

“Lomé values have risen above Dangote sales prices, which has shut the arbitrage,” a trader was quoted as saying, highlighting that importing fuel into Nigeria has become increasingly uneconomic under prevailing market conditions.

The development comes against the backdrop of a sharp increase in global freight rates. According to S&P Global, the cost of transporting clean petroleum products from Northwest Europe to West Africa has risen from US$29.70 per metric tonne at the end of June to US$37.12 per metric tonne, as vessels reposition to serve alternative markets.

At the same time, diesel markets have tightened following reduced supplies of Russian Black Sea cargoes, pushing up prices for high sulphur gasoil across West Africa and further increasing import costs.

Despite these global pressures, Dangote Petroleum Refinery has continued its policy of gradual price moderation.

Since the end of May, the refinery has reduced the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) by more than N200 per litre, Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) by N300 per litre, and Jet A1 aviation fuel by N520 per litre, even while processing crude oil purchased when international prices were substantially higher than current levels.

The refinery has consistently maintained that petroleum product pricing is driven by actual crude procurement costs rather than daily movements in international Brent prices, noting that crude oil is acquired weeks or months before refining under commercial contracts linked to monthly average pricing mechanisms.

Industry analysts say the latest market developments further validate the strategic importance of domestic refining capacity in insulating Nigeria from external supply shocks.

With international product prices rising, freight costs increasing and regional trading hubs such as Lomé recording gasoline prices above those offered by Dangote Refinery, Nigeria’s dependence on imported fuel would likely have translated into significantly higher domestic pump prices had the refinery not been operating at scale.

The latest S&P assessment also reinforces Dangote Refinery’s growing influence on petroleum pricing in West Africa. Market participants increasingly view the refinery’s pricing as the regional benchmark, with importers finding it difficult to compete whenever international replacement costs exceed domestic refinery prices.

Analysts say the development illustrates one of the key objectives behind the establishment of the 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery: shielding Nigeria from global market disruptions, eliminating dependence on imports, conserving foreign exchange and providing greater price stability for consumers and businesses.

As geopolitical tensions, tighter product supplies and higher shipping costs continue to reshape global fuel markets, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is increasingly emerging not only as Nigeria’s primary source of refined petroleum products but also as a stabilising force for energy markets across West Africa.

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.