Nigeria's Federal Government has called for sustained investment in the country's oil and gas industry, telling industry correspondents in Abuja on Thursday that policy stability, regulatory certainty, security and faster project execution will determine whether the sector stays competitive as the energy transition accelerates.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, delivered the message at the 2nd Annual Conference of the Association of Energy Correspondents, Abuja FCT (AECAF), held under the theme "Sustaining Oil and Gas Investment in Nigeria Amid Energy Transition."

The minister did not attend in person. His Senior Technical Adviser, Abel Nsa, represented him and read the address, titled "Unlocking Gas Investment for Domestic Growth and Energy Security."

At the core of the government's pitch is the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021. Ekpo said the reforms driven by President Bola Tinubu's administration aim to provide clarity, strengthen regulatory institutions and create a more competitive operating environment for investors, consistent with implementation of the PIA.

The stakes are straightforward. Nigeria remains, in the government's framing, fundamentally an energy-rich country with significant oil and gas resources and potential across the entire petroleum value chain. The Federal Government says it is committed to building a petroleum industry that is competitive, investment-friendly and capable of delivering tangible benefits to Nigerians, with oil and gas remaining important contributors to national development.

"Across the world, the energy sector is undergoing significant transformation, driven by technology, changing consumer preferences, climate considerations and evolving investment priorities," Ekpo said. "For Nigeria, the challenge is to navigate this transition in a manner that safeguards energy security, promotes economic growth, attracts investment and ensures that our abundant natural resources continue to deliver value to our people."

That framing positions Nigeria's challenge as broader than lifting volumes. "Our task is therefore not simply to produce hydrocarbons, but to create an investment environment that enables these resources to support industrialisation, job creation, infrastructure development and improved living standards," the minister said.

He tied that outcome to a specific set of conditions: "This requires a sustained commitment to policy stability, regulatory certainty, fiscal competitiveness, security and efficient project delivery."

Each element on that list carries weight for operators in the Niger Delta and beyond. Policy stability and regulatory certainty speak to the long cycle between final investment decisions and first oil or first gas; fiscal competitiveness bears directly on project economics in a basin competing for global capital; security addresses the operational risks that have historically constrained onshore production; and efficient project delivery targets the schedule slippage that erodes returns on downstream and midstream infrastructure alike.

The gas portfolio adds urgency to the message. Ekpo's address linked gas investment to domestic growth and energy security, signalling that the government views the resource not only as an export commodity but as an input to industrialisation — a position consistent with the decade-of-gas agenda that has shaped Nigerian policy discussion since the PIA's passage.

The conference platform itself is notable. AECAF's second annual gathering drew the gas ministry's most senior message to an audience of energy journalists, an indication that the government sees communication of its reform agenda as part of the investment climate it is trying to build.

What the minister did not offer on Thursday was a new fiscal instrument, a production target or a timeline for specific projects. The address restated the government's framework — PIA implementation, institutional strengthening and investor competitiveness — rather than announcing fresh measures. Investors will look for those commitments to show up in concrete form: FIDs advanced, permits issued on schedule, and gas infrastructure delivered.

The watch item now is execution. The Tinubu administration has staked its sector credibility on PIA implementation producing a measurable improvement in regulatory turnaround and project sanctioning. Until new investment decisions land and delivery schedules hold, the minister's five conditions — stability, certainty, fiscal competitiveness, security and efficient delivery — remain the benchmark against which Abuja's promises will be measured.