OPEC, Stakeholders Raise Concern Over $12.6tr Oil, Gas Investment

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and experts said on Wednesday, Nigeria and other oil-producing nations might find it difficult to raise over $12.6 trillion needed for oil and gas investment before 2045.

The most populous nation in Africa has been struggling to finance oil and gas projects, as over $160 billion upstream projects remain in limbo, while major financiers are already declining to fund some programmes with Final Investment Decisions.

Coming few weeks after the International Energy Agency called for a halt to fossil fuels investment in an attempt to meet a net-zero emission by 2050, OPEC Secretary-General, Mohammed Barkindo, who spoke at the closing session of the 14th Nigerian Association for Energy Economics (NAEE) International Conference in Abuja, acknowledged the daunting challenges facing the sector.

He had said: “Cumulative investment of $12.6 trillion in the upstream, midstream and downstream is crucial through to 2045 in order to meet this need. Investment in 2020 dropped by more than a whopping 30 per cent in the face of COVID-19, even worse than the dramatic decline seen in the severe 2015-2016 industry downturn.”

According to him, the energy security risk that would result from the feeble investment would heavily impact both producers and consumers, adding that oil-bearing developing countries will be hard hit.