Bola Ahmed Tinubu has issued a stern warning to marginal oil field licence holders in Nigeria who lack the capacity to effectively develop and operate their fields. Speaking on October 8, 2025, during the commissioning of Nigeria’s first indigenous crude oil export terminal in Otakikpo, Rivers State, Tinubu emphasized that the era of holding onto oil licences without meaningful activity is over.
The newly commissioned $400 million Green Energy International Limited (GEIL) terminal boasts a pumping capacity of 360,000 barrels per day and is the first crude export terminal built by a Nigerian company in over five decades. Tinubu highlighted that such infrastructure projects reflect the government’s commitment to ramping up crude production and improving export evacuation efficiency.
In his remarks, the President urged licence holders to meet their minimum work obligations or consider exiting the sector. “If you don’t have the capacity to do it, you better go and look for something else to do instead of wasting your time in oil and gas,” Tinubu warned.
He praised the government’s policies, including globally competitive fiscal incentives, designed to encourage operators to put idle fields to work. Tinubu also pointed to the soon-to-launch $5 billion African Energy Bank aimed at easing financing challenges for oil projects.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, echoed the message, stating the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) enforces accountability, insisting that licenses must translate into actual exploration, production, and value creation. The government’s stance is clear: dormant oil licences will no longer be tolerated.
This policy aims to unlock billions of barrels of reserves in marginal and stranded fields across the Niger Delta, stimulate indigenous participation, and boost Nigeria’s crude oil production to meet national and global demand targets.