KEY POINTS
- The facility is Nigeria’s first wholly indigenous onshore crude export terminal in over five decades.
- President Tinubu says the project aligns with his government’s Renewed Hope Agenda to strengthen energy security.
- The government is also advancing talks with Ogoni leaders to restart oil production in the Niger Delta.
Green Energy International Limited, GEIL, has launched the Otakikpo Onshore Crude Oil Export Terminal, a $400 million facility described as a historic milestone in Nigeria’s energy industry.
The terminal, located in Rivers State, marks the country’s first wholly indigenous crude export terminal to be developed in more than fifty years.
The announcement was made by Olu Verheijen, Special Adviser to the President on Energy, who hailed the project as a model of local innovation and leadership. “This first wholly indigenous facility of its kind in over five decades is a landmark achievement,” she said. “It showcases visionary leadership, technical depth, and Nigeria’s growing capacity to deliver world-class energy infrastructure.”
A Symbol of Indigenous Capacity and Strategic Growth
President Bola Tinubu, represented at the inauguration by Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), said the project reflects Nigeria’s renewed focus on local participation and infrastructure expansion within the energy sector.
“The Otakikpo terminal demonstrates our commitment to strengthening national energy security and empowering indigenous firms to play bigger roles in our oil and gas industry,” Tinubu said. He added that the terminal aligns with his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda and reinforces Nigeria’s long-term energy ambitions.
The President reaffirmed the continued relevance of hydrocarbons to Nigeria’s growth trajectory despite global transitions to renewables. “Oil and gas will never go away,” Tinubu said. “The International Energy Agency has admitted that the world must invest over $540 billion annually in the upstream sector to prevent a future energy crisis. We cannot abandon our God-given resources.”
He also disclosed that the Federal Government is engaging with Ogoni leaders to resolve longstanding grievances that have hindered oil production in their communities for decades.
In recent months, the government has taken several steps to revitalise the Niger Delta’s energy landscape. In September, President Tinubu instructed the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to lead talks with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and Ogoni stakeholders to finalise modalities for resuming oil output in Ogoniland. Earlier in January, Tinubu directed similar negotiations aimed at fostering mutual trust and sustainable development in the region.
The administration has also backed the creation of the Federal University of Environmental Technology in Ogoni, Rivers State, to strengthen capacity building and local innovation.
With the Otakikpo terminal now operational, industry observers say Nigeria has taken a major step toward deepening its crude export capabilities while keeping value creation firmly in local hands. The development could also serve as a template for future indigenous-led projects across the nation’s oil-producing regions.
