Nigeria and France are seeking deeper energy cooperation to address infrastructure gaps, expand gas development and strengthen local industrial capacity as stakeholders push for partnerships that deliver more than foreign capital and trade.
Industry leaders and government representatives at the 2026 French Week energy roundtable in Lagos identified gas infrastructure, technology transfer, local content, decarbonisation and regulatory stability as critical to unlocking investment opportunities in Nigeria’s energy sector.
The discussions, organised by the Franco-Nigerian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), highlighted the need to translate Nigeria’s substantial oil and gas resources into industrial growth, improved energy access and employment.
Matthieu Bouyer, managing director and chief executive officer of TotalEnergies Nigeria, said Nigeria’s energy requirements and resource base offered significant opportunities for deeper commercial partnerships between both countries.
Read also: NLNG Train 7 to raise Nigeria’s cooking gas capacity by 50%
He said the company, which has operated in Nigeria for 70 years, viewed the country as a long-term investment destination, with continued opportunities to develop local talent, contractors and business partnerships.
However, he noted that attracting investment would require improvements in energy infrastructure, operational efficiency and environmental performance.
Bouyer identified gas development, energy transition and technology transfer as three priority areas for cooperation, arguing that Nigeria needed a pragmatic approach to decarbonisation that would accommodate its growing energy demand.
He said recovering gas currently lost through flaring could create commercial value while reducing emissions, as the resource could be supplied to domestic industries, used for power generation or exported.
Nigeria’s gas resources also offer opportunities to support manufacturing and industrial development, but inadequate infrastructure and an uncertain investment environment remain important constraints.
Adeleye Falade, managing director of Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), said the country’s energy future depended increasingly on its ability to commercialise its gas resources.
Nigeria has approximately 215 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves, while estimates of its wider resources stand at about 600 trillion cubic feet, he said.
Falade argued that gas should be treated as a foundation for industrialisation, clean cooking, export earnings and economic diversification rather than merely a transitional energy source.
He cited NLNG’s Train 7 expansion as an example of how international partnerships could increase production while creating opportunities for Nigerian contractors and manufacturers.
According to him, engineering on the project was 99.5 percent complete, procurement 99.8 percent complete, and construction approximately 94 percent complete.
Expected to commence operations towards the end of 2027, Train 7 will increase NLNG’s production capacity from 22 million tonnes per annum to approximately 30 million tonnes per annum, representing an increase of about 35 percent.
The project has recorded approximately 95 percent local content, with Nigerian companies manufacturing components including pressure vessels, cables and valves.
About 16,000 people, largely young Nigerians, have been engaged during construction, while wider project activities have supported an estimated 40,000 jobs.
Since commencing operations, NLNG has generated approximately $149.6 billion in revenue, paid $47.9 billion in dividends and remitted about $10.5 billion in taxes, he disclosed.
He said increasing production capacity would further expand the company’s contribution to government revenue through taxes, dividends and other payments. Domestic gas utilisation also featured prominently in the discussions, particularly the role of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in improving access to cleaner cooking fuels.
Falade said NLNG was directed in 2022 to supply all its LPG production to the domestic market to support clean cooking objectives. He noted that household air pollution associated with traditional cooking fuels was estimated to cause about 100,000 deaths annually in Nigeria, with women particularly affected.
The company’s ability to supply the domestic LPG market is expected to increase by approximately 50 percent following the completion of Train 7, he said.
However, he identified pipeline security and reliable gas supply as critical to sustaining production growth and supporting investments in new facilities. He disclosed that seven incidents had been recorded on NLNG’s DTS-1 pipeline so far this year, compared with approximately 12 in the previous year.
Similarly, Laurent Favier, France’s consul-general in Lagos, said Nigeria’s energy sector presented significant investment opportunities but required stronger infrastructure to translate its resources into reliable energy supply.
He noted that close to 100 million Nigerians still lacked reliable electricity despite the country’s substantial oil and gas production.
Favier cited 2025 figures showing that crude oil and condensate production averaged 1.77 million barrels per day, while gas supply reached 7.2 billion standard cubic feet daily.
According to him, the gap between the country’s energy resources and the electricity needs of its population reinforced the importance of international investment and infrastructure development.
French companies, including TotalEnergies, SPIE and Schneider Electric, are already contributing to Nigeria’s energy and industrial sectors through investment, expertise and employment, he said.
Feyishola Jaiyesimi is a writer and storyteller. She currently writes for the energy desk at BusinessDay with a focus on renewable energy and environmental issues. She began her journalism career as an agricultural reporter and now covers the energy sector, including oil, gas, electricity, environment, and renewables. She has been selected for professional training by the US Consulate, Lagos. She is a 2025 Dataphyte Biodiversity Reporting Fellow. Feyishola holds a bachelor’s degree in Zoology and Environmental Biology from Ekiti State University.
