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By Adewale Sanyaolu
TotalEnergies has called on the government to collaborate with other nations in West Africa to develop a regional synergy for combating threats to maritime assets.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies E&P Nigeria Limited, Mr Matthieu Bouyer, disclosed this during the management session of the ongoing 42nd NAPE Annual International Conference and Exhibition in Lagos yesterday. The event’s theme was: “The Evolving Landscape of the Nigerian Energy Sector—Challenges and Opportunities.”
To further safeguard oil and gas assets, which have been under constant attack, the company proposed developing a robust strategy for host communities’ “part ownership” of energy infrastructure.
The company stated that this would motivate host communities to cooperate more effectively with the government and other stakeholders on asset security.
Bouyer, represented by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, Mr Olatunji Akinwunmi, highlighted that TotalEnergies has been a trusted partner in the Nigerian energy development space for over six decades, with investments running into billions of dollars in recent years, contributing to the economic development of Nigeria.
“In addition to our continuous investments in infrastructure, capital, and human development, we are also proud that, since we commenced operations in Nigeria in the early sixties, we have made useful contributions to several policies and initiatives aimed at developing the Nigerian energy sector whenever the opportunity arises. We thank NAPE for continuously providing the platform for stakeholders in the energy sector to contribute to critical issues affecting this industry.”
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He added, “According to the EIA in its 2024 World Energy Outlook, recent increases in clean energy investment come mostly from advanced economies and China, making up 85 per cent of the total, while other emerging markets and developing economies, home to two-thirds of the global population, account for just 15 per cent.
“This misalignment is a major concern, given that demand for energy services in developing economies will inevitably increase in the coming years to support rising standards of living, universal access to energy, and the construction of modern infrastructure.
“The high cost of capital and lack of affordable long-term financing are key contributors to these regional imbalances and impede the increase in capital flows to emerging markets and developing economies in the future.”
As expected, he maintained, investors allocate more resources to countries with the highest return on investment and stable economies.
However, he noted that Nigeria is responding to the need for competitiveness with progressive changes in the Nigerian energy landscape in recent years, such as: the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021, which provides better clarity on fiscal terms and stabilisation; grants operational and financial autonomy to the NNPCL (upstream and downstream); and encourages the faster development of discoveries.
Other changes include provisions for the deregulation of the downstream sector to enhance value and competition, recent presidential initiatives that provide additional fiscal incentives for gas development, shortened and streamlined contractual processes, and efforts to confront oil theft and other forms of sabotage.
Bouyer added that other areas requiring additional efforts include more attractive entry costs and conditions for exploration in new blocks, the provision of market-reflective signature bonuses, consideration for the introduction of a “drill or drop” window in the exploration phase, access to expired deepwater blocks, and facilitating entry into unexplored and expired deepwater blocks through strategic partnerships with the industry.
