The Group Managing Director of NNPC Limited, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, says Africa’s persistent energy deficit is not due to a shortage of resources or talent, but “the persistent fragmentation of the ecosystem required to convert resources into prosperity.”
Speaking at the 2026 Nigerian Oil and Gas Energy Week in Abuja, Ojulari said the continent’s defining challenge is connecting the “missing links” between resource owners, operators, investors, policymakers, researchers, and capital.
“No nation, no company, and no institution can unlock the full potential of energy resources in isolation,” he told delegates. “Today it is not a shortage of talent… it is neither the shortage of opportunities. It is the persistent fragmentation of the ecosystem.”
Ojulari questioned how a continent with vast oil, gas, critical minerals, and renewable potential “remains home to some of the world’s largest energy deficits.”
“The answer in my view lies in the missing connection between the critical institutions for which successful energy economies are built,” he said. “Across the continent, we still witness insufficient alignment between resource owners and operators. Between investors and projects. Between innovation and execution. Between policy and capital. Between research and commercialization.”
He argued that the oil industry “is one of the most interconnected industries in the world,” and its success depends “not on the strength of a single organization, but on the collective… putting collective success and collective progress above our individual targets.”
Citing history, he noted: “The majority of the IOCs that came into Africa… did not come as one. Whether it’s ExxonMobil, Total, Chevron, they were not stupid. They came in as shared risks. That’s how they were able to build what we see today.”
“What are we doing? This, my own, my own. It has to be just me. We need to find a bridge to connect the dots. At the national levels, at African levels, and rise above, and see the bigger picture.”
*Capital, Regulation, Research Must Align*
Ojulari said Africa needs “strong financial institutions willing to provide patient and comprehensive capital across volatile commodity cycles,” as well as service providers “who convert geological potential into reliable production.”
“It requires regulators who provide clarity, consistency, and predictability. It requires universities, research institutions, innovation centers that continuously develop the talent… technologies and solutions that will power the future,” he said.
“And perhaps, most importantly, it requires governments, communities, industry leaders who recognize that long-term collaboration creates more value than short-term competition.”
“When any one of these links is weak, investment slows. When several are weak, projects stop. When all the disconnections remain, resource-free, but prosperity poor,” he added.
He said recent Middle East tensions and shipping disruptions show “energy security cannot be taken for granted,” and that “traditional supply chains are evolving… Trade flows are shifting. New energy corridors are emerging. Capital is becoming incredibly selective.”
“The winners of the next energy era will not necessarily be those with the largest reserves. They will be those who can build the most effective partnerships and the most resilient ecosystem around those reserves,” Ojulari said.
He noted Africa holds about 17% of global natural gas resources, vast oil, minerals, renewables, and “one of the world’s youngest and fastest growing populations.” Yet the continent “continues to attract a disproportionately small share of global energy investment.”
“This must change and changing it requires fundamental shifts in our mindsets,” he said. “We must move beyond transactional relationships towards strategic partnerships… beyond isolated projects towards integrated value chains… beyond exporting raw resources toward building industrial economies powered by those resources.”
*NNPC’s Transformation and Cash Call Update*
Ojulari said NNPC’s transformation is built on collaboration. “We do not intend to just preach what we don’t do.”
He reported progress on pipeline availability, saying collaboration with partners and security agencies had sustained a reconciliation factor of 98%. “You cannot survive in the Niger Delta through what they call kinetic solutions… You survive through collaboration with the communities.”
On cash calls, he said NNPC “will no longer own anybody cash call.” While six major partners are meeting obligations, others face challenges. “We have zero tolerance for partners who are not able to fund. We started… to invoke the treaties to ensure that we find a huge burden on pay. So that no more free lunch.”
He also highlighted recent execution agreements achieved through collaboration with NUPRC, NMDPRA, and the ministries. “This is not about NNPC, this is the agenda. This is the outcome of… collaboration.”
“We have rid ourselves of any pseudo-regulation,” he added. “We want to focus on our business.”
Ojulari stressed that NNPC is shifting from plans to execution. “Planning has never been a problem in Nigeria. Talking has never been a problem. Proposals have never been a problem… The question is how you translate those ideas into value, into dollars, into prosperity.”
He said the company is eliminating projects “that do not have a clear line of sight to financing… or to profitability,” citing new financing models for infrastructure like the AKK pipeline based on throughput, not external guarantees.
On refineries, he said NNPC is moving away from taking loans “not leading to the productivity and performance” of the assets. “Our solution has to be that those refineries are able to work, raise their own and deliver.”
Ojulari closed by saying NNPC is positioning itself “not here as another energy producer, but as an ecosystem builder, connecting capital, technology, policy, talent, and markets to create lasting value for Nigeria and Africa.”
“The future of Africa will not be defined solely by the resources beneath the soil,” he said. “It will be defined by the quality of the partnerships that we all build.”
He envisioned “Africa resources driving Africa’s industrialization… where gas powers factories, goods, and economies… where research becomes innovation, where innovation becomes industry and industry becomes prosperity.”
“Africa is not merely a supplier of energy to the world, but a global center of energy investment, technology, manufacturing, and value addition,” he said.
“The opportunity before us is extraordinary… And the time to act is now — together through purposeful collaboration, good leadership, and shared commitment.”
