Nigeria champions regional energy integration to tackle $120bn Import Bill at Africa Oil Week 2025

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, Ph.D, has reaffirmed Nigeria’s enactment relation successful advancing Africa’s vigor security, calling for deeper determination integration astatine the Africa Oil Week (AOW) 2025 Ministerial and CEO Leadership Forum.

Sen. Lokpobiri, successful a connection signed by Nneamaka Okafor, his Special Adviser connected Media and Communication, stressed that integration remains the astir effectual strategy to extremity Africa’s vigor poverty, noting that shared infrastructure, harmonized standards, and method expertise volition alteration the continent to unafraid its vigor future.

He highlighted Africa’s dense reliance connected imports, revealing that the continent spends implicit $120 cardinal annually connected hydrocarbon imports. “This is superior flight. These funds should stay wrong Africa to substance our ain improvement priorities,” the Minister stated.

The Minister emphasized that the existent situation is not entree to superior but the deficiency of aligned regulatory frameworks and fiscal regimes. “Investors marque semipermanent decisions based connected stableness and predictability. Africa indispensable harmonize its policies to pull and clasp investment,” helium said.

As portion of Nigeria’s enactment drive, Sen. Lokpobiri announced the instauration of a West African Reference Market (WARM)—an inaugural to leverage Nigeria’s increasing refining capableness to proviso petroleum products crossed West Africa and beyond.

On the planetary vigor transition, helium clarified that the Paris Agreement does not necessitate abandoning fossil fuels, but alternatively a simplification successful emissions. “Africa contributes lone 3% of planetary CO₂. We cannot pb an vigor modulation erstwhile we don’t adjacent person energy. Our precedence indispensable beryllium to responsibly harness our abundant resources to powerfulness growth,” helium added.

Sen. Lokpobiri concluded by urging African nations to unite astir a shared purpose: “Africa has the market, the population, and the resources. What we request present is to support worth wrong our continent and concern our ain vigor future.”

The station Nigeria champions determination vigor integration to tackle $120bn Import Bill astatine Africa Oil Week 2025 appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.