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By Adewale Sanyaolu
Nigeria must urgently convert its ongoing oil and gas reforms into bankable projects capable of attracting long-term capital, boosting production and creating sustainable value, the Country Chair and Managing Director of TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited, Matthieu Bouyer, has said.
Bouyer, stated this yesterday, at the 5th PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Summit (PEALS) 2026 in Abuja, with the theme: “Strengthening Regulatory Frameworks as a Catalyst for Stability and Growth in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry.”
He said Nigeria’s biggest challenge was no longer a lack of resources or potential, but the ability to translate its vast opportunities and policy reforms into projects that investors could finance and execute.
“Nigeria does not lack potential. The real challenge is conversion,” he said.
The TotalEnergies chief said delays in project execution had consequences far beyond individual oil companies, warning that bottlenecks ultimately affect government revenues, employment, local content, host communities, workers and the confidence of future investors.
He said Nigeria was competing with other oil and gas jurisdictions for increasingly selective global capital, with investors weighing fiscal terms, regulatory stability, project execution timelines, security, emissions intensity, cost structures and the likelihood of projects being delivered before committing funds.
Bouyer said recent reforms, including the Petroleum Industry Act, fiscal incentives for non-associated gas and deepwater developments, measures to shorten contracting timelines and efforts to improve cost competitiveness, represented important steps towards restoring investor confidence.
He stressed that the success of the reforms would ultimately be measured by the projects they unlocked.
“Reform becomes real when it unlocks projects,” he said.
He cited the Final Investment Decision taken by TotalEnergies and NNPC Limited in 2024 on the Ubeta gas development as an example of what could be achieved when policy, partnership and project maturity aligned.
According to him, Nigeria must also intensify exploration, describing it as “the renewal engine” of the petroleum industry.
Without sustained exploration, Bouyer warned, the country’s resource base would decline, with implications for future production, investment, jobs and Nigeria’s position in the global energy market.
He said TotalEnergies remained committed to Nigeria, where it has operated since 1956, adding that the company’s strategy was centred on operated assets where it could deploy its technical expertise to improve safety, operational efficiency, emissions reduction and project execution.
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Bouyer also identified gas as a major opportunity for Nigeria, but said the resource could only become a significant driver of economic growth if the country developed the infrastructure and commercial structures required to support long-term investment.
He said gas projects required bankable contracts, credible offtake arrangements, payment discipline, timely approvals and commercial frameworks capable of supporting long-cycle investments.
“Gas resources should be converted into power, LNG, industrial growth and exports,” he said.
He added that the resource could support domestic energy access while providing opportunities for export and lower-emission production.
The TotalEnergies executive also linked emissions reduction to economic value, arguing that reducing gas flaring, recovering gas and tackling methane emissions could preserve valuable molecules for domestic consumption, exports and integration into the wider gas value chain.
He disclosed that TotalEnergies became the first E&P operator in Nigeria to eliminate routine flaring across all its operated assets at the end of 2023.
The company, he said, is also working with NNPC Limited on AUSEA, a drone-based technology for high-precision methane and carbon dioxide monitoring, while more than 2,500 sensors have been installed across its operated assets to facilitate real-time methane leak detection and faster intervention.
Bouyer further called for greater stability across the industry, arguing that sustainable investment requires a coordinated effort by government, regulators, operators, labour and host communities.
He said government had a responsibility to provide clear policies and effective regulation, regulators must ensure predictable implementation, operators must maintain disciplined investment and safe operations, while labour and host communities must contribute to industrial harmony and trust.
Bouyer described industrial harmony as more than a labour issue, calling it a business enabler because it directly supports safety, production, investment and human capital development.
“If Nigeria wants long-term jobs, it must create the conditions for long-term projects, a competitive industry and a stable environment in which investors, workers and communities can see a future.”
In his welcome address, PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, said the theme reflected the growing concern among investors over regulatory uncertainty and the need for clear and predictable rules before capital could be committed to long-term projects.
Osifo warned that overlapping mandates among government agencies and regulatory uncertainty remained significant threats to investment in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
He said PENGASSAN’s summit was aimed at strengthening dialogue among government, regulators, operators, investors, labour and host communities to address the structural barriers holding back growth in the sector.
