Nigeria’s Oil Sector: APPO Urges Pan-African Expansion

Dr. Omar Ibrahim, Secretary General of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO), has urged Nigerian oil sector players to expand into other African oil-producing countries.

He made the call on Thursday at the ongoing Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunities Fair (NOGOF 2025) in Yenagoa.

The APPO scribe applauded Nigeria’s advancement in the African oil and gas sector and challenged Nigerian companies to look beyond the shores of the country for opportunities to lead other countries that look up to Nigeria.

“Nigeria is currently doing well in the oil and gas space, especially with regards to the regulatory templates, which a lot of countries are coming to. Nigerian Content has become a model for other African oil producers.

“Nigeria is doing well, but it can be better when opportunities for expansion outside Nigeria are explored.

“From what I have seen at the exhibition hall, Nigerian entrepreneurs can export their innovative solutions to the rest of Africa and even beyond,” he said.

He advised the oil industry entrepreneurs to jettison the idea of sole ownership of their business and seek collaborations and partnerships with their peers in other African countries to get a foothold the foreign markets.

Ibrahim explained that all the International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in Nigeria have partial ownership structures ceding some percentage of their shares to Nigerians to enable them to have access to operate in Nigeria.

“Nigerian businessmen should jettison the idea of me and my son mentality and open ownership to their peers in other oil producing countries to get into those countries,” he said.

Some 1,000 companies are participating in the fair organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board to showcase opportunities that Nigerian entrepreneurs can leverage on to deepen the participation of Nigerians in the energy sector (NAN)