Nigeria Calls for Regional Energy Integration at Africa Oil Week 2025 to Cut $120bn Import Bill

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, Ph.D, has reaffirmed the country’s leadership in driving Africa’s energy security, urging greater regional integration at the Africa Oil Week (AOW) 2025 Ministerial and CEO Leadership Forum.

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Nneamaka Okafor, Lokpobiri described integration as the most effective path to ending Africa’s energy poverty. He argued that shared infrastructure, harmonized standards, and pooled technical expertise would enable the continent to secure its energy future.

Highlighting Africa’s dependence on external markets, the Minister revealed that the continent spends over $120 billion annually on hydrocarbon imports.

“This is capital flight. These funds should remain within Africa to fuel our own development priorities,” Lokpobiri stated.

He noted that the major obstacle to energy development is not a lack of capital but inconsistent regulatory and fiscal policies across the continent.

“Investors make long-term decisions based on stability and predictability. Africa must harmonize its policies to attract and retain investment,” he emphasized.

As part of Nigeria’s leadership role, Lokpobiri announced the creation of the West African Reference Market (WARM) — a framework designed to leverage Nigeria’s expanding refining capacity to supply petroleum products across West Africa and beyond.

On global energy transition, the Minister clarified that Africa’s priority is not abandoning fossil fuels but reducing emissions.

“The Paris Agreement does not require abandoning fossil fuels, but rather a reduction in emissions. Africa contributes only 3% of global CO₂. We cannot lead an energy transition when we don’t even have energy. Our priority must be to responsibly harness our abundant resources to power growth,” he said.

Lokpobiri concluded with a call for continental unity:

“Africa has the market, the population, and the resources. What we need now is to keep value within our continent and finance our own energy future.”