Apparently impressed with the current transparency in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria, the Managing Director and Chief Executive, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Matthieu Bouyer, said the Petroleum Industry Act ( PIA) has helped the company to take and translate resources and de- risk them into bankable and executable projects.
Besides, he said the company has been looking for fast market deals, adding that the current business environment has actually fallen squarely into what it has been able to do in Nigeria.
Speaking at a panel session titled:” IOCs De- Risking Investments in Africa Oil and Gas Projects” during the Sub-Saharan Africa International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (SAIPEC) in Lagos, Bouyer said the company has made huge progress in the last three years.
According to him, the will of Nigeria’s government through the PIA has made things easy to do business.
He described the transition in Nigeria over the last three years as “phenomenal”, saying the PIA really paved the way to a lot of businesses
Represented by the Executive Director, Strategy Business and Asset Management (SBAM), Abiodun Afolabi, the managing director said that one of the factors, which has brought a lot of transparency in the market, coupled with the will of the government, is the PIA
He said:” I believe there have been a couple of factors that have led to that, one being the PIA, which has brought a lot of transparency in the market. It’s helped to pave the way to a lot of businesses .
“The other has been the will of the government through the PIA in Nigeria by putting in place institutions and regulations that have made it easier for us to do business.”
“And I go by three years because it sort of ties with the new administration that has come into Nigeria that has been very business-minded.”
“What we’ve seen in Nigeria, which sort of translates into how TotalEnergies does business, is that, first of all, there’s the above-ground and the below-ground and the above-ground risk.
“The beauty of Nigeria is that, I think Wood Mackenzie has estimated in Nigeria for us to have resources in the range of 50 billion barrels and over 200 tcf of gas. So in terms of Nigeria being prolific, subsurface, it’s there, it exists. Above-ground used to be our issue and I’d say we’ve made huge progresses in the last three years through the PIA, through the institutions that have been put in place such as NUPRC in allowing us to be able to take and translate those resources and de-risk them into bankable and executable projects,” he said.
Over the last three years, he added that the company has been able to identify certain projects, which one of them being the Ubeta project, implemented in 2024.
He said the project fell into the template and types of projects that was done by capitalizing on existing infrastructure.
“Clearly, over the last three years, we’ve been able to identify certain projects, one of them being the Ubeta project, which we ever in 2024. Which clearly falls into that template and types of projects which clearly were able to capitalise on existing infrastructure.
“And basically, we’ve been able to translate the resources of over one TCF into a project that will be executed next year, 2027, many it executable and bankable. The current infrastructure makes it simple for us to look at a resource and off-take it in a short period of time.
He also mentioned IMA project as the second in the same framework, with a resource close to the market and identifiable offtake in a short period of time
“So hopefully we’ll be FID Ima in 2026 with a potential opportunity to get to ready to start up (RFSU) or first RFSU by 2029. So, this is what is key for us, an environment in which business can be done efficiently with limited bottlenecks,” the managing director said, adding, “that doesn’t mean that we don’t do exploration.”
To de-risk investments, Bouyer stressed the importance of clear and consistent government policies, strong contracts, and well-planned projects. He also emphasized the need for partnerships with indigenous companies to enable faster execution and greater value creation.⁶
He noted that TotalEnergies has taken steps to reduce its environmental footprint in Nigeria, including eliminating routine gas flaring and implementing methane detection sensors. The company is also advancing renewable energy projects, such as a 5-MW solar power plant at OML 58.
He mentioned the recent bid round launched by NUPRC in 2024 as another opportunity the company was able to capitalised on
“This was a clear case in which the process was transparent and with our partners, we were able to execute in a short period of time or we were able to be successful in delivering assets in-country,” he said.
“So long and short, I think what is key for a successful presence in-country is firstly the resources, which is not the issue for us in Nigeria but clearly a transparent framework to do business, which is the case that we’re seeing in Nigeria today, which is allowing us to continue to extend and to thrive in this environment.
Over the last years, the CEO said the company has been able to close a number of deals , assuring that it would continue to earmark opportunities in-country, believing they will put TotalEnergies in lead for the next years to come.
On whether gas is seen as a transition fuel, he said the market remains fundamental, adding that there has to be an offtake.
‘We are in a prolific zone. And for us, there is more gas in Nigeria than there is oil. So clearly, it is an opportunity. Now, how do we capitalise on that opportunity? It is clearly by developing the market and the infrastructure,” he said
For easy projects, he said the elements of market and infrastructure exist, adding that where they don’t exist, there is a need to develop them.
“In many cases, we do. If you take the example of the ECOP, where there isn’t a solution, we develop a solution, we develop a pipeline.
” In Nigeria, you need to develop that infrastructure, you need to develop the mode in which we share infrastructure. Ultimately, what makes our projects robust is the cost to bring them to market. “We talked about capital being agnostic. but to some degree, it is limited.
“There is one thing that we don’t predict in my company, we don’t predict the oil price. So the only way to ensure that your project is robust is that, at the worst oil prices, it still is viable.
“For it to be viable, we need to ensure that we develop the capacity that we can do more in-country than externally, ” he said.
He described gas as the future, adding that the transition is a plus for Africa.
According to him, “the way to ensure that we’re in the game is that we make our projects viable, I mean by the markets, and by the infrastructure that ultimately brings down the cost of bringing it to market.”