Why we’re investing $6bn in energy projects in Angola, Nigeria–TotalEnergies

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanne, has explained why the company is investing a whooping sum of $6 billion in energy projects in Angola over Nigeria.

Pouyanne, who spoke with panellists of the Africa CEO in Kigali, Rwanda, said the inconsistency in policy making decisions led to the diversion of the project from Nigeria to Angola, a country with a more stable policy framework.

The oil boss stated that although the Niger Delta is the most productive region in West Africa, the erratic policy environment has made investment untenable.

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He added that TotalEnergies has not conducted oil exploration in the region for 12 years.

“Nigeria loves to open topics without closing them. You love to debate. There is always a new legislature in Nigeria about a new petroleum law. When you have such permanent debates, it’s difficult for investors looking for long-term structure to know what direction to go.

“In reality, the Niger Delta is the most prolific part of West Africa. But if you look at what happened, because of these debates, there has not been a single exploration in Nigeria for 12 years.

“It’s important to have a debate and then settle it and put a framework on the table that investors can trust.

“We have countries that have perfectly integrated policies like Angola. So, we went to Angola and announced a very large $6 billion project at the beginning of the week because their  framework is stable. So we know where we go,” Pouyanne said.

In addition, Pouyanne said that insecurity and the lack of human capital are two of the main issues facing investment in the country.