Experts Seek Stronger Domestic Capital For Nigeria’s Energy Growth
Oil and gas experts have urged Nigeria to deepen domestic financing and strengthen indigenous capacity as international capital becomes increasingly difficult to access for African energy projects.
The experts made the call on Thursday at the 2026 NAEC Energy Conference organised by the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC) in Lagos.
Mrs Alero Balogun, General Manager, Corporate Communications, Oando PLC, said international financing was increasingly retreating from African energy projects.
“There is a mismatch between the kind of capital that Nigeria or Africa’s energy sector requires and what the international lending system is currently prepared to provide,” Balogun said.
She said Nigeria needed to develop stronger domestic financing structures to support long-term investments in the energy sector.
“Nigerians have to start to build our own financial ecosystem so that we are doing the financing ourselves,” she said.
Balogun said oil and gas investments required patient capital because projects often involved long development periods and significant risks.
She attributed financiers’ reluctance to fund African energy projects partly to operating, policy and regulatory risks.
Also speaking, Mr Wole Ogunsanya, Chairman of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), said indigenous oilfield service companies needed to achieve greater scale to execute larger projects.
“We are consolidating within PETAN by forming groups that can work together and deliver big projects,” Ogunsanya said.
He said consolidation would enable smaller companies to combine complementary technical capacities and execute projects beyond their individual capabilities.
“There is a job of 10 million dollars, and you can only do two million dollars,” he said.
Ogunsanya said companies could form technical interest groups, combine their capabilities and execute projects at competitive costs.
He stressed that consolidation would not prevent new companies from entering the industry.
“It doesn’t stop new entrants from starting, by the way. The intention is not to prevent other people from coming in,” he said.
Ogunsanya said stronger indigenous capacity would help Nigeria retain more value from its oil and gas activities within the country.
