Nigeria must strengthen its legal and regulatory framework to achieve its net-zero emissions targets while sustaining economic growth and attracting long-term investment into the energy sector, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has said.
Speaking at the Lawyers in Energy International Conference (LEICA 2026) in Lagos on Tuesday, 14th of July, 2026, Lokpobiri stressed that clear, transparent and enforceable laws are essential for guiding Nigeria’s energy transition. The minister was represented by the Director of Legal Services at the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Terlumun George-Maria Tyendezwa.
The three-day conference, themed “Net Zero, Energy Law and Regulatory Reform: Managing Risk and Unlocking Opportunity in a Carbon-Constrained Energy Market,” has brought together legal experts, policymakers, regulators, investors and industry stakeholders to examine how legal reforms can accelerate Africa’s transition to a lower-carbon economy.
Lokpobiri said investor confidence depends not only on policy direction but also on the certainty provided by legislation and regulatory institutions.
According to him, Nigeria’s energy sector requires a legal framework that is transparent, predictable and consistently enforced to encourage domestic and foreign capital. He noted that while government policies are important, they must be supported by effective implementation and regulatory certainty to unlock investment.
The minister highlighted Nigeria’s Climate Change Act, the country’s emerging carbon credit framework and the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) as key pillars supporting the nation’s transition strategy. He added that regulators are continuously refining rules governing both upstream and downstream petroleum operations to improve operational clarity and strengthen investor confidence.
Lokpobiri said balancing climate commitments with energy security remains a priority for Nigeria, noting that the country intends to leverage its abundant hydrocarbon resources while progressively expanding cleaner energy investments.
Delivering the keynote address virtually, Secretary-General of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO), Farid Ghezali, argued that fragmented legal and regulatory systems remain one of the biggest barriers to energy investment across Africa.
He said investors increasingly assess regulatory stability, fiscal certainty and policy consistency alongside natural resource potential when making investment decisions.
“In this new reality, geology alone is no longer enough,” Ghezali said, describing regulatory uncertainty as Africa’s “biggest hidden tax” because it increases project costs, delays investment decisions and weakens the continent’s competitiveness.
According to him, investors operating across Africa must navigate more than 50 different legal and regulatory regimes, creating unnecessary complexity that discourages capital inflows. Greater regulatory harmonisation, he argued, would reduce costs, accelerate project execution and improve Africa’s attractiveness as an investment destination.
Lokpobiri concluded that the decisions made today by governments, regulators and legal professionals will shape the continent’s energy future for decades. He reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to strengthening regulatory institutions, protecting investors and host communities, and creating a stable legal environment capable of supporting both economic development and Nigeria’s long-term net-zero ambitions.
