Nigeria could attract significantly higher investment into its energy sector over the next five years following its new associate membership of the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Executive Director, Fatih Birol, said the country could potentially double its current energy investment within the period, citing Nigeria’s growing importance in the global energy market.
Birol made the remarks on Thursday in Abuja during an interview with Reuters, shortly after Nigeria became the 14th associate member of the agency and the first OPEC member to join the IEA.
He said the new relationship would give Nigeria greater influence in international energy policy discussions while making the country more attractive to foreign investors.
Birol described Nigeria as a reliable energy supplier and highlighted the contribution of the Dangote Refinery to global fuel supplies, particularly in Europe.
He said, “Countries have been reassessing energy partnerships and supply chains following market disruptions caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and instability along key shipping routes”.
“If the Strait of Hormuz is not going to open convincingly sometime soon, we may have some difficulties both in terms of crude oil, but especially on products such as diesel and jet fuel”.
According to Birol, the current global energy situation has increased the demand for dependable partners and stable supply chains.
“The most scarce commodity is not oil, not gas, not uranium, not lithium. It is trust,” he said. “Countries are looking for partners they can rely on.
He added, “My goal is, in a very short period of time, in five years, to at least double the energy investments Nigeria is receiving today”, he said.
Nigeria and the IEA are also expected to strengthen cooperation in areas such as natural gas, electrification, clean cooking, energy efficiency and energy data.
Birol said improved energy data collection and reporting would also form part of the partnership between Nigeria and the agency.
