Banks Urged to Fund Gas Expansion as Nigeria Pushes Major Energy Data Reform

(Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan. Photo Credit: Arise NEws)

Nigeria’s upstream oil and gas regulator has called on banks to play a more active role in financing the expansion of domestic gas production, while the national statistics agency moves to deepen data-sharing collaboration with the sector.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) chief executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, made the appeal during a visit by executives of Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) to the commission’s Abuja headquarters.

She stressed the need for stronger partnerships between regulators, financiers, and industry players to attract investment and drive growth in the sector, assuring that the commission would ensure strict compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act and other regulatory frameworks.

Eyesan pointed to strong investor appetite as evidence of the sector’s potential, noting that the ongoing 2025 licensing bid round attracted nearly 300 applications from both international oil companies and local operators.

She also highlighted progress on energy transition initiatives, including the issuance of flare gas access permits to 28 firms and a target of reducing fugitive methane emissions by 60 per cent by 2031.

RMB’s Head of Oil and Gas Coverage, Jonathan Ross, expressed the bank’s interest in supporting Nigeria’s oil and gas growth, with gas development identified as a strategic priority.

He cited major infrastructure such as the OB3 Gas Pipeline as critical to unlocking the country’s gas potential, and acknowledged that recent regulatory reforms and improved security in host communities have made Nigeria a more attractive investment destination than in previous years.

Separately, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has designated a dedicated team to engage more regularly with the NUPRC on data covering crude production, gas reserves, oil spills, and exploration and production activities.

Statistician-General Adeyemi Adeniran, who visited the commission’s headquarters, emphasized that oil and gas data is indispensable to the NBS’s ability to produce GDP figures and other national statistics.

He called for deeper institutional collaboration, noting that the NBS is currently implementing a digital data exchange system across 15 government agencies and is also compiling petroleum national accounts as part of a broader natural capital accounting initiative.