By Seun Ibiyemi
The Chairman of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Engr. Wole Ogunsanya, has issued a warning regarding the disconnect between high-level energy policies and the actual delivery of projects on the ground.
Delivering a presentation titled “Bridging Production Gaps: From Policy Intent to Project Delivery” at the 9th Nigeria International Energy Summit, Ogunsanya highlighted that despite a surge in administrative activities such as tenders and technical evaluations since late 2024, the nation’s oil production continues to struggle because these contracts are not transitioning into active execution quickly enough.
Central to this delay is a series of systemic bottlenecks identified in a recent PETAN study.
These hurdles range from prolonged internal approval cycles and delayed Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) to slow commercial negotiations and complex regulatory processes that prevent projects from reaching financial close.
Ogunsanya emphasized that for the Presidential Directive on oil and gas to succeed, there must be a rigorous monitoring of the contracting cycle to ensure that policy intent results in measurable barrels of oil.
He noted that without regulatory stability and predictability in institutional leadership, investors would remain hesitant to commit the long-term capital required for large-scale energy projects.
Beyond identifying these challenges, PETAN has taken proactive steps to strengthen the local industry’s technical backbone.
The association has invested over $150 million in equipment and asset capacity since the previous summit to enhance indigenous operational capabilities.
PETAN is aggressively addressing the industry’s human capital needs through a two-year graduate internship program spanning 120 member companies.
Developed in collaboration with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and major operators like Shell, Seplat, and Chevron, this initiative aims to cultivate a new generation of skilled Nigerian professionals capable of reversing the current production decline and securing Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global market.