China National Petroleum Corporation and India’s ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) have revealed plans to invest in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, citing regulatory reforms and the country’s huge oil and gas reserves.
The oil and gas firms gave the hint on Tuesday during a panel session at the 2025 CERAweek by S&P Global in Houston, Texas, USA.
The theme of the session is ‘Spotlight: Attracting Investment for Oil and Gas.’
The Deputy Director-General of the Planning Department, CNPC, Pinxian Zhang, said during the investment call hosted by the NNPC and the National Oil Corporation (NOC) of Libya that the company is targeting countries with effective regulation.
Zhang said, “CNPC, through its strategic developments, has discovered a lot of vast oil fields and has gone to many countries to establish and improve their oil and system and ministries.
“CNPC is involved in the operation of over 50 oil and gas projects in more than 20 countries worldwide. We are in Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and South America.
“Our business includes oil and gas exploration, pipeline construction and operations, refinery, and chemicals.”
He said the company seeks to invest in a safe environment with sound regulations.
“Going forward, CNPC will continue to enhance its corporation in investing in the oil and gas sector,” he said.
On the priority region, he said the company is targeting its existing projects in Central Asia and the Middle East.
“We are pursuing opportunities in other countries across other regions. In Africa, we will continue to optimise operative projects in Chad, Niger, and Mozambique.
“We are exploring opportunities in countries such as Nigeria, Namibia, and Angola.”
Similarly, the Managing Director of ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL), Rajarshi Gupta, said India consumes $5.4m of oil daily while 70,000 Indians fill up their cars daily.
“There is an expectation that they will get the product at the right price. What is important for us is that we need a buy-in of the government because whenever we enter a country, we are there for the long run,” he said.
Gupta said the company considers fiscal and legal regimes before investing.
“If the government of the nation has available resources, we will offer them a commitment,” he added.
According to him, Nigeria is one of the countries that OVL will explore.
