By Udeme Akpan, Energy Editor
Nigeria’s growing indigenous ownership of oil and gas assets must translate into higher production, increased investment, job creation, technology development and broader public value, industry leaders and academics have said.
They spoke at the 15th Dr. Emmanuel Egbogah Legacy Lecture in Port Harcourt, with the theme, “The Expanding Role of Upstream Independents in Nigeria: Implications for Petroleum Value Creation and Public Value.”
The speakers said the transfer of petroleum assets to indigenous operators was creating new opportunities for Nigerian companies to play a bigger role in the upstream sector, but warned that ownership must be backed by investment, technical capability and effective execution.
The Managing Director/CEO of Heirs Energy, Mr. Osayande Igiehon, represented by the company’s Senior Vice-President, Business Transformation and Innovation, Fidelis Akpoghrian, said Nigeria’s challenge was not a shortage of petroleum resources but its inability to consistently convert those resources into greater national value.
He said: “After more than six decades of oil and gas production, Nigeria still faces production constraints, unreliable electricity and difficulties in ensuring that communities benefit sufficiently from petroleum activities.”
Igiehon described the emergence of indigenous upstream operators as one of the most significant structural changes in the industry, but cautioned against viewing asset transfers as an achievement in themselves.
“Indigenous ownership must be matched by disciplined execution,” he said.
According to him, “changing ownership does not automatically translate into changing outcomes.”
He explained: “An asset may change hands quickly, but capability cannot be transferred with the same speed.”
Igiehon warned that if production declined, infrastructure deteriorated and investment disappeared after an asset changed ownership, “the country may have changed the names on a shareholder register without changing the national outcome.”
He said the key issue was whether Nigerian operators could raise their operations to world-class standards and convert their assets into lasting economic value.
Igiehon also challenged the perception that mature petroleum assets were necessarily exhausted, saying declining fields, ageing facilities and existing wells could still support production growth with the right investment, technology, security and execution.
He identified gas as another major opportunity, while stressing the need to protect infrastructure, deploy technology and improve execution across the value chain.
Similarly, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Chike Princewill Chike, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration and Advancement, Prof. Chukwudi Onyeaso, said the industry was experiencing major changes in ownership, participation, regulation and investment.
Chike said indigenous operators were bringing “new investment models, entrepreneurial approaches and local knowledge” into the acquisition, development and management of petroleum assets.
But he posed a fundamental question: “Will increased participation in upstream activities actually translate into increased value for Nigeria?”
He said the answer should be measured beyond production and government revenue.
According to him, value creation should include “efficient resource development, increased domestic investment, local-content development, technology transfer, employment opportunities, infrastructure development, gas monetisation, improved operational efficiency and stronger connections between the petroleum sector and the wider Nigerian economy.”
He added that public value should encompass “economic prosperity, energy security, environmental sustainability, community development, social inclusion, institutional accountability and intergenerational equity.”
Chike also called for stronger collaboration among universities, industry and government, particularly in enhanced oil recovery, gas development, digitalisation and artificial intelligence.
On his part, the Chairman of the occasion and Managing Director/CEO of Flowgrids Limited, Engr. Dauda Aleokhai Musa, the ownership transition must be accompanied by investment in Nigerians capable of managing increasingly complex petroleum operations.
Musa said an oil company’s skills requirements changed significantly as it moved from exploration to development and production.
He therefore stressed the need to build local expertise alongside the growth of indigenous operators.
He described collaboration among academia, government and industry as a “triple helix” for developing sustainable human and technological capacity.
Former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Joseph Ajienka, meanwhile, proposed the establishment of a policy institute at the university dedicated to oil and gas and public policy.
He said the proposed institute could provide a permanent platform for research and policy discussions beyond the annual lecture.
Also, the Executive Director of the Emmanuel Egbogah Foundation and Professor Emeritus of Petroleum Economics, Prof. Wumi Iledare, also urged indigenous oil companies to invest more in Nigerian universities and deepen collaboration with local institutions.
Iledare said the purpose of developing Nigeria’s petroleum industry should extend beyond production volumes.
“It is not about barrel, it is about value,” he said.
He explained that the benefits of quality education and capacity building could take years to become visible, making sustained investment in human capital critical to the industry’s future.
The speakers’ positions point to a broader test for Nigeria’s changing upstream landscape: whether increased Nigerian ownership can be converted into stronger production, sustained investment, employment, technological capability and tangible benefits for the wider economy.
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