By Muhammad Mamman
Nigeria’s crude oil production has climbed to 1.8 million barrels per day, up from 1 million, according to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri. He added that the government aims to push output further to 2.5 million barrels per day, as American firms show strong interest in investing in Nigerian oil blocks.
Speaking at the inaugural Africa Energy Investment Summit (AE Invest 2025) in New York, Lokpobiri highlighted renewed investor confidence in Africa’s energy sector.
Making the case for sustained fossil fuel investment, he stressed:
“Africa must not be deceived into abandoning fossil fuels while the West expands production. Our hydrocarbons will fund our transition — not charity, not aid.”
Equatorial Guinea’s Minister of Hydrocarbon Mining Development, H.E. Antonio Oburu Ondo, representing Vice President Nguema Obiang Mangue, echoed the call for African nations to take control of their energy destiny.
“Africa holds 40% of global natural resource discoveries yet remains at the mercy of financiers in London, Paris and New York,” he said. “Energy finance is a question of sovereignty. We must build the African Energy Bank, mobilise our sovereign wealth and pension funds, and secure Africa’s rightful place as a global energy leader.”
The Secretary General of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO), Dr Omar Farouk Ibrahim, said the United Nations General Assembly provided an ideal platform to unite leaders and investors to unlock funding for Africa’s energy future.
