The Commission Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, has warned that inconsistent regulatory frameworks across African countries remain one of the biggest obstacles to cross-border energy investments, calling for the strengthening of the African Petroleum Regulators’ Forum as a continent-wide platform for regulatory alignment.
Eyesan made the call in a keynote address at the Nigerian International Energy Summit held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, on Monday.
She was represented at the event by the Director, NUPRC, Mr Edu Inyang.
Her remarks were contained in a statement issued on Monday by the Head, Media and Strategic Communication of the commission, Mr Eniola Akinkuotu.
Speaking on the theme “One Africa, One Regulator Voice: Aligned Policies for Continental Prosperity and Investment,” the NUPRC boss said Africa’s energy challenge is no longer about resource availability, but about regulatory fragmentation that raises costs, delays projects and scares away investors.
“Investors are not deterred by Africa’s geology; they are deterred by inconsistent rules,” Eyesan said.
According to her, AFRIPERF was created to address this gap by driving regulatory convergence, improving predictability and accelerating the execution of cross-border oil and gas projects that can deliver shared prosperity across the continent.
“AFRIPERF was established to institutionalise regulatory convergence, provide predictability and enable faster execution of cross-border projects that deliver shared prosperity,” she added.
Eyesan explained that the forum, launched in collaboration with petroleum regulators across Africa, is already making progress in aligning technical standards, developing shared data platforms, building regulatory capacity and projecting a unified African voice at global energy and climate engagements.
She noted that Africa’s prospects for industrialisation and inclusive growth remain immense if its resources are developed through coordinated policies and aligned regulatory frameworks.
“Africa holds about eight per cent of global oil and gas reserves, nearly 30 per cent of known critical mineral resources, and has a population exceeding 1.5 billion people, most of whom are youthful and economically active.
“When these advantages are harnessed through integrated infrastructure, coordinated policies and aligned regulations, they can drive industrialisation, strengthen regional value chains, enhance energy security and deliver inclusive growth” she said.
Despite the global energy transition, Eyesan reaffirmed that oil and gas will remain central to Africa’s development for decades, supporting electricity generation, clean cooking, fertiliser and petrochemical production, as well as public revenues required to fund infrastructure, healthcare and education.
She highlighted Africa’s growing success in speaking with one voice at international platforms, noting that coordinated advocacy at successive Conferences of the Parties helped secure recognition of gas as a transition fuel and culminated in the establishment of the Loss and Damage Fund at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh.
“These successes show what Africa can achieve when it speaks with one voice,” she said, adding that similar unity is required within the continent’s regulatory and investment frameworks.
Eyesan cited existing examples of policy alignment yielding results, including the African Continental Free Trade Area, regional power pools and cross-border gas infrastructure such as the West African Gas Pipeline.
However, she lamented that more than 180 trillion cubic feet of discovered natural gas across Africa remains undeveloped, largely due to fragmented markets and unaligned fiscal and regulatory regimes.
“This is a huge missed opportunity for energy access, industrial growth and economic transformation,” she said.
The NUPRC chief noted that Nigeria has taken deliberate steps to lead by example through the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, transparent licensing rounds and the development of major gas infrastructure projects such as the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano pipeline, the Nigeria–Morocco Gas Pipeline and the revived Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline.
She also pointed to the establishment of the Africa Energy Bank, headquartered in Nigeria, as a major step towards mobilising African capital for African energy projects, especially at a time when global financing for fossil fuel investments is shrinking.
In her closing remarks, Eyesan urged African regulators and policymakers to deepen cooperation by strengthening AFRIPERF, expanding regional gas and electricity networks, adopting shared sustainability standards and maintaining a unified stance in global energy and climate discussions.
“Our voice must be one, our frameworks aligned, and our actions coordinated. Only then can we unlock the full transformative power of Africa’s resources for our people”, she said.
AFRIPERF, launched by African petroleum regulators, was conceived as a response to these challenges. The forum aims to harmonise regulatory standards, align fiscal and operational frameworks, share data and build capacity among regulators to support cross-border projects and improve Africa’s competitiveness as an investment destination.
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