The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says the country’s total annual upstream capital expenditure decreased from $27 billion in 2014 to less than $6 billion in 2022.
NUPRC CEO Gbenga Komolafe revealed this on the sideline of the World Petroleum Congress (WPC) held on Sunday in Calgary, Canada.
Mr Komolafe, represented by the agency’s executive commissioner Kelechi Ofoegbu, said the figure represented a 74 per cent decrease in capital expenditure (CAPEX).
He attributed the decline in CAPEX to several factors while emphasising that regulatory uncertainty significantly impacted investment in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Mr Komolafe further said prevalent in the years preceding the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) also affected investment in the industry. He said other factors are the de-funding of fossil fuel development occasioned by energy transition and the global call for decarbonisation.
According to him, most international oil companies…