Nigeria Leads Africa in Oil and Gas Investment Despite Decline

Nigeria has maintained its status as a dominant oil and gas investment destination in Africa, accounting for 70% of the continent's upstream investment and 80% of its crude oil and gas production, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). This information was released in the 2026 World Energy Investment Report on Tuesday.

The report highlights a dramatic decline in upstream investment across Africa, which fell from $68 billion in 2016 to $37 billion in 2025, a decrease of approximately 46%. Despite this decline, investment remains concentrated in five major producers: Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Egypt, and Libya.

Collectively, these countries have seen their investment halved from $50 billion in 2016 to $25 billion in 2025. In contrast, emerging producers like Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, and Uganda have attracted increasing investment, rising from $1.5 billion in 2016 to $5 billion in 2025.

Exploration capital expenditure in Africa reached nearly $6.5 billion in 2025, reflecting ongoing work in newly discovered hydrocarbon basins.