Speaking at the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) 2026, Oando Energy Resources Managing Director, Dr Ainojie ‘Alex’ Irune, says Nigeria’s upstream ambitions would only translate into sustained momentum if growth targets are matched by collaborative policy, aligned governance and credible capital pathways.
At NIES 2026, the most compelling signal about Nigeria’s upstream future was not another production target or investment headline—it was a growing recognition that scale without alignment will no longer deliver results. On the high-level panel themed “Capitalising Africa’s Global Upstream Momentum,” discussions repeatedly returned to a central question: can Nigeria sustain its global upstream moment without stronger coordination across policy, capital and execution?
For Irune, the session marked what he described as a coming-of-age moment for Nigeria’s upstream sector.
For scaling to be meaningful, policy has to move in tandem with industry ambition. Without that alignment, even technically sound projects struggle to attract the depth of capital required for scale.” — Dr Alex Ainojie Irune, Oando Energy Resources
Irune noted that Nigeria continues to speak openly about near-term ambitions of reaching two million barrels per day. He says “But ambition alone is no longer the differentiator. What matters now is whether these targets are backed by coherent policy, credible governance, and capital pathways that align companies, regulators and the state.”
Too often, Irune said, production goals are announced without a clearly articulated pathway—one that accounts for cost structures, capital requirements, and regulatory certainty. The result is a familiar gap between intent and delivery, one that global investors increasingly scrutinise.
Irune was emphatic on one point: Nigeria’s constraints are no longer rooted in technical capability. The country has repeatedly demonstrated its capacity to execute complex upstream projects. The real challenge, he said, lies in the surrounding architecture: internal corporate governance, regulatory clarity, and institutional coordination across the ecosystem.
“For scaling to be meaningful, policy has to move in tandem with industry ambition,” Irune stressed. “That means getting regulations right—not as static rules, but as enabling frameworks that support efficiency, performance and long-term investment. Without this alignment, even technically sound projects struggle to attract the depth of capital required for scale.”
Achieving national production ambitions, Irune said, will require a broader capital ecosystem—one that blends traditional financing with government-to-government frameworks, multilateral support, and renewed engagement with international oil companies. Far from being peripheral, IOCs remain critical partners as they reassess long-term, patient capital strategies in markets where governance and policy direction are credible.
“Capital follows alignment,” he added. “Investors are not only assessing asset quality, but also the coherence of the policy and institutional environment in which those assets sit.”
Irune also challenged lingering perceptions about indigenous operators. Companies such as Oando, Seplat and Renaissance, he said, are built by well-trained professionals who have learned in global operating environments and understand the demands of international finance, emissions management and governance.
What remains difficult, Irune acknowledged, is coordination. Aligning the strategies of indigenous operators, regulators, NNPC, and government institutions into a mutually reinforcing direction is the harder task, and it will define Nigeria’s competitiveness in the years ahead.
Encouragingly, he pointed to early signs of progress. Regular engagements between operators, regulators, and the national oil company are beginning to institutionalise dialogue around challenges, ambitions, and performance gaps. “This is a critical departure from the fragmented decision-making of the past,” he said.
Irune believes that Nigeria’s next phase of upstream growth will not be driven by individual company success stories alone. It will be shaped by collaborative policy, disciplined commercial choices, and projects deliberately designed to strengthen the wider ecosystem.
“Without that alignment,” Irune warned, “Nigeria risks missing the opportunity to convert its upstream ambitions into sustained global relevance.”
