The Managing Director of TotalEnergies Nigeria, Mathieu Bouyer, has said Nigeria must remain globally competitive to attract capital, as international oil companies increasingly compete across multiple countries and projects for limited investment funds.
Bouyer stated this during a panel session titled “Capitalising on Africa’s Global Upstream Momentum” at the 9th National Energy Summit 2026 on Wednesday in Abuja, where he outlined TotalEnergies’ evolving strategy for Nigeria’s oil, gas, and power sectors.
“Our strategy rests on two core pillars: growing oil and gas production, and expanding electricity generation and integrated power. In essence, it’s about growing energy as a whole,” Bouyer said.
He explained that TotalEnergies’ operations in Nigeria remain firmly anchored in hydrocarbons, particularly oil and gas, which continue to compete internally for capital allocation within the global portfolio of the French energy major.
“When it comes to global capital allocation, one of our daily challenges is demonstrating that investments in Nigeria represent the strongest opportunities for growth within this pillar of the company.
“We are competing with other countries and projects for capital, so it is critical that Nigeria remains attractive,” Bouyer said.
Bouyer noted that TotalEnergies’ approach in Nigeria is centred on maximising value from existing operating assets across both onshore and offshore terrains, covering gas and oil developments.
“Our approach here is centred on maximising value from existing operating assets, both onshore and offshore, covering onshore gas as well as offshore oil and gas,” he said.
According to him, the company manages a structured portfolio of opportunities that are constantly evaluated to drive production growth.
“Two years ago, we sanctioned a project with a capacity of 10 million cubic metres per day, and several additional projects are in the pipeline. This is a core focus of our day-to-day efforts,” Bouyer said.
He added that while TotalEnergies remains active in integrated power solutions, its current Nigerian portfolio is still more weighted towards upstream oil and gas production.
“Overall, our activities in Nigeria today are more weighted toward the first pillar than the second,” he said.
On sustainability, Bouyer said TotalEnergies has significantly reduced its environmental footprint in Nigeria, aligning with its global low-carbon ambitions.
“Under the second pillar, we are committed to developing a sustainable operating model.
“We have significantly reduced emissions and eliminated routine flaring across all our facilities in Nigeria since 2023,” he said.
He disclosed that the company has deployed methane detection sensors across its Nigerian operations to monitor emissions in real time.
“We have installed methane detection sensors across our sites, allowing us to monitor emissions in real time and respond quickly to any leaks,” Bouyer said.
Bouyer also revealed that TotalEnergies is advancing renewable energy projects alongside gas developments.
“Very soon, we will commission a five-megawatt solar power plant at OML 58 to supply power to the new Ubeta project.
“This represents one of the first near-net-zero gas developments, not just in Nigeria, but globally,” he said.
Bouyer further used the platform to call for an end to what he described as an artificial dichotomy between international oil companies and indigenous operators, stressing that collaboration remains critical to unlocking Nigeria’s energy potential.
He stated, “I don’t really see this as a big issue. We have been partnering with local companies for decades.”
Citing long-standing partnerships, Bouyer said TotalEnergies has worked with AMNI, Conoil, and Sapetro for over 20 years, delivering successful projects across shallow and deep offshore terrains.
“We’ve been with AMNI for more than 20 years. We’ve been with Conoil for 20 years. We’ve been with Sapetro quite successfully on deep offshore for more than 20 years as well,” he said.
Highlighting Sapetro as a model partnership, Bouyer said the collaboration delivered world-class projects such as the Egina FPSO and the Akpo-Condensate developments.
“These are some of the best world-class technologies we can deploy in our industry,” he said.
He disclosed that TotalEnergies is currently working with Conoil to appraise resources around its deep offshore block, with plans to tie them back to Egina, while exploration drilling is planned this year with Sapetro.
“We are pushing to drill these wells this year—both of them,” Bouyer said. “That means we will bring another rig into the country.”
According to him, partnerships with indigenous companies enable faster execution and greater value creation.
“When we are with local partners, it is an enabler to go quicker and unlock value, not only for ourselves, but for the country,” he said.
TotalEnergies is one of Nigeria’s largest international energy investors, with interests spanning deep offshore oil production, gas development, LNG, and power generation.
As Nigeria seeks to reverse declining oil output, attract capital under the Petroleum Industry Act, and balance energy security with decarbonisation goals, industry watchers see the company’s strategy as a bellwether for broader investor sentiment.
This growing industry consensus that Nigeria’s competitiveness, regulatory clarity, fiscal stability, and partnership models will determine whether it continues to attract global energy capital.
Meanwhile, TotalEnergies has clinched the coveted Best Offshore Development Project Award at the Gala and Award Night of the 9th Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2026), held at the State House, Abuja.
The award celebrates technical excellence, operational efficiency, and sustainable delivery of Nigeria’s offshore hydrocarbon reserves.
TotalEnergies was honoured for the landmark Egina deepwater project, hailed as one of Africa’s most successful offshore developments.
Delivering up to 200,000 barrels per day, Egina was praised for its engineering brilliance, operational precision, and deep integration of Nigerian content.
The project created thousands of local jobs, transferred advanced technical skills, and maximised national resource recovery.
The citation described Egina as “not just a facility, but a symbol of what is possible when global expertise meets local capability.”
The award was presented by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, and received on behalf of the company by Mathew Bouyer, Managing Director of TotalEnergies EP Nigeria, who led the company’s delegation.
With this recognition, TotalEnergies reaffirmed its role as a leading partner in Nigeria’s energy sector, demonstrating how strategic collaboration and local content integration can deliver world‑class projects that empower a nation.
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