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Nigeria's marginal field program has put dozens of indigenous operators in control of upstream assets. Transforming those assets into sustained production, however, remains a practical and financial challenge.

Of the 57 fields awarded in the 2020 bid round, only a handful have reached first oil – due to a combination of high development costs, limited access to capital and uncertain fiscal terms. While these challenges continue to weigh on the economics of small fields, new and maturing investment incentives are clearing a path for operators to build producing assets from sites that were previously written off.

African Energy Week 2026 – taking place in Cape Town on October 12-16 – will host an Upstream E&P Forum at African with a dedicated panel on the subject, entitled Developing Nigeria's Marginal Fields in a Cost-Constrained Environment: Fiscal Incentives and Accelerating Development Timelines. The session brings together three operators navigating these challenges, moderated by a senior representative from Wood Mackenzie.

The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), signed in 2021, was intended to improve Nigeria’s investment climate. It restructured royalty rates from a range of 7.5 to 20% down to 5 to 15% and introduced a hydrocarbon tax to replace the petroleum profits tax. It also provided lower fiscal terms for holders of Petroleum Mining Leases (PMLs), the license category into which producing marginal fields convert. The panel will explore whether those terms go far enough in the current cost environment, and which fiscal levers – reduced royalties, accelerated cost recovery, tax holidays or flexible production-sharing terms – have the greatest practical impact on marginal field economics.

Energia CEO Oladimeji Bashorun joins the session as one of the operators testing those economics in practice. The company operates PML 23, formerly the Ebendo/Obodeti marginal field in OML 56, where it has been producing for more than 16 years in a joint venture with Oando. Current output sits at roughly 3,500 barrels of oil and 10 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. Bashorun, who took over as CEO in April 2026 after serving as COO, is also expanding the company's upstream footprint through interests in PPL 210 and PPL 212.

Also on the panel is Ugo Okafor, founder and CEO of SunTrust Atlantic Energies, which has held an interest in the Umusadege field in OML 56 since the early 2000s and has been producing since 2008. SunTrust's long track record at a field that was once considered uneconomic speaks directly to the question of how shared infrastructure and incremental development can reduce per-barrel costs over time.

Emadeb E&P COO Sheriff Adeeyo brings the perspective of a newer entrant. Emadeb reached first oil at the Ibom field offshore Akwa Ibom in November 2025, a field it won in the 2020 bid round and developed with more than $100 million of investment. A second phase is expected to triple output. For operators like Emadeb, the discussion around predictable gas pricing, offtake terms for small producers and how indigenous companies can attract capital is based in experience and material results.

The panel will take place in the aftermath of another landmark achievement for Nigerian upstream. On July 24, the country’s upstream regulator opened bidding on 50 oil and gas blocks, the latest test of whether the PIA's reforms are translating into investor confidence.

“Indigenous operators have acreage and ambition, but marginal fields only work if the fiscal terms and shared infrastructure are there to make the economics viable,” stated NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber. “Getting that balance right is one of the most important conversations we can have at AEW this year.”