….Culled from Reuters

Oil prices could extend gains today as the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran entered a third week, putting oil infrastructure at risk and keeping the Strait of Hormuz shut in the world’s largest supply disruption. U.S. President Donald Trump threatened further strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub, drawing a defiant response of further retaliation from Tehran.
Brent and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures have already spiked sharply and ⁠rattled global financial markets. Both contracts have surged more than 40 per cent so far this month to their highest levels since 2022 after the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran prompted Tehran to halt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz – a key chokepoint for a fifth of global oil supply.
Trump has urged China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain and others to deploy warships to secure the strategic gateway.
The United States struck military targets on Kharg Island on Saturday, which was swiftly followed by Iranian drone attacks on a key oil terminal in the United Arab Emirates.
“This marks an escalation in the conflict,” JP Morgan analysts led by Natasha Kaneva said.
“Until now, the region’s oil infrastructure has largely been spared.”
Besides UAE’s ⁠Fujairah, Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura export terminal and Abqaiq oil processing facilities have been listed as critical and highly vulnerable energy nodes in the Gulf, the analysts said.
However, oil loading operations at Fujairah have resumed, a Fujairah-based industry source told Reuters yesterday.
Fujairah, outside the Strait of Hormuz, is the outlet for about one million barrels per day of the UAE’s flagship ⁠Murban crude oil – a volume equal to about one per cent of world demand.
Global oil supply is expected to fall by eight million bpd in March due to disruptions to shipping while Middle Eastern producers have cut output by at least 10 million bpd, ⁠according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Last week, the IEA agreed to release a record 400 million barrels of oil from strategic stockpiles held by member nations to combat price spikes. Japan plans to start releasing its oil today.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has rebuffed efforts by Middle Eastern allies to start diplomatic negotiations, according to three sources familiar with the efforts, while Iran has rejected the possibility of any ceasefire until U.S. and Israeli strikes end, dimming hopes of a quick end to the conflict.

The Chairman, Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Wole Ogunsanya, has blamed petroleum industry regulators for persistent delays in oil and gas contracting processes, despite a presidential directive requiring tenders to be concluded within six months. Ogunsanya disclosed this during his presentation at the opening ceremony of the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) 2026 in Abuja, yesterday. The Presidential directive is aimed at accelerating project execution across the energy sector.

Recall that President Tinubu in March 2024, issued Executive Order (OE) 42 mandating reduction of petroleum sector contracting costs and timelines, being part of a wider set of oil and gas reforms signed by the administration.

“We are not concluding contract processes in six months as directed and reports sent to the Presidency often fail to reflect the realities faced by industry players,” the PETAN boss said.

Ogunsanya disclosed that his Association is currently monitoring ongoing tenders, emphasising that several projects scheduled to commence in 2026 and 2027 remain stalled due to prolonged contracting cycles.

He noted that execution gaps persist despite a significant increase in contracting activities involving expressions of interest, tenders, pre-qualifications, and technical and commercial evaluations since the fourth quarter of 2024. He also identified prolonged internal approvals, delayed Final Investment Decisions (FIDs), slow commercial negotiations, extended regulatory and compliance procedures, and funding and financial close challenges as major bottlenecks undermining project delivery.

According to him, a study conducted by PETAN revealed that the current rate of contract awards falls significantly short of the Presidential benchmark of completing tenders within six months, with most contracts structured for five years and a possible two-year renewal.

Ogunsanya therefore called on the Presidency to give closer monitoring of the contracting process to ensure that awards and project execution align with presidential timelines, warning that continued delays could weaken investor confidence and slow sector growth.

• Domestic gas supply exceeded 2 billion cubic feet daily
• NNPC to expand Escravos Lagos Pipeline Line

President Bola Tinubu has said his administration has strengthened the oil and gas sector to secure a Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) surpassing $8 billion in offshore gas developments from global energy firms.
He said the torrent of direct investments into the sector revived strongly because of regulatory certainty and fiscal reforms.
President Tinubu disclosed this yesterday while officially declaring open the 9th edition of the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) at the Banquet Hall, State House, in Abuja. He was represented by Vice President, Kashim Shettima.

President Tinubu said: “The sector secured final investment decisions exceeding $8 billion, including major offshore gas developments involving global energy companies. The outpouring of direct investment into the oil and gas sector rebounded strongly, driven by regulatory certainty, fiscal reforms and improved operational guidelines and conditions.”

He said domestic gas supply exceeded two billion cubic feet per day for the first time, strengthening power generation, industrial utilisation and energy access. Export volumes, according to him, increased alongside sustained expansion of gas processing and transportation infrastructure, reinforcing Nigeria’s role in regional and global gas markets.

The President reminded the stakeholders that on his assumption of office in 2023, the sector was only rich in potential, but weighed down by inefficiencies, uncertainty and underinvestment.

His words: “When this administration assumed the mantle of leadership in May 2023, we inherited an energy sector rich in potential, yet constrained by inefficiencies, uncertainty, and prolonged underinvestment. We set to work without panicking, guided by the clear understanding that energy cannot be treated simply as an economic commodity if stability is our goal. Energy is a catalyst for national security, industrial growth, social inclusion, and regional cooperation.”

Tinubu said under his administration, Nigeria’s upstream activity recorded a historic rebound, recounts growth from eight weeks in 2021 to 69 weeks by late 2025, reflecting renewed exploration and building momentum

The Federal Government, he said, has also introduced a broad executive order on oil and gas investment enabling to unlock up to $10 billion in capital inflows, streamline project approvals, reduce bureaucratic delays and position Nigeria as a prepared investment destination.

He recalled that in 2025, the administration introduced the Upstream Petroleum Operations Cost Efficiency Incentives Order, providing tax credits of up to 20 per cent to promote cost efficiency, enhanced competitiveness, and deepened Nigerian participation.

Tinubu also noted that as a direct result of the reforms the government has introduced, Nigeria’s average crude oil production improved to approximately 1.6 million barrels per day.

The administration, he said, consolidated its role as a live wire of sector reform and strengthened regulatory institutions to ensure clarity of goals, transparency and investor competitiveness.

He added that the country introduced fully digital, transparent, and competitive licensing rounds to the upstream sector, widely regarded as among the most credible bidding processes in our history.

On the 2025 bid round, he said: “In furtherance of this objective, we approved the commencement of the 2025 licensing round, creating new investment windows and enabling additional crude oil and gas production capacity.”

He said Nigeria’s refining landscape entered a new era with the commencement of local operations and the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, significantly enhancing domestic supply of refined petroleum products.

The President said modular and indigenous refineries advanced under supportive regulatory frameworks, diversifying national refining capacity. On the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited NNPCL refineries, he said “Rehabilitation of state-owned refineries also gained renewed momentum, with operational stability and efficiency remaining a primary focus.”

He added that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) recorded strong and consistent revenue performance, surpassing annual targets and fiscal sustainability.

In similar vein, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri said the renewed confidence has culminated in the huge FIDs inflows into the sector.

He said: “International confidence has also returned: Shell’s $5 billion Bonga North project, and TotalEnergies’ $550 million Ubeta project marks Nigeria’s first major FIDs in over a decade. This was followed by Shell’s $2 billion HI project and the $1.8m cumulative spent by Chevron in their Panther project.

“Only recently, the global CEO of Shell announced their commitment to taking a $20 billion FID, with several other FID lined up to be announced in this year and in the coming year.
“In 2025 alone, 28 new field development plans worth $18.2 billion were signed, with potentials of 1.4 billion barrels of oil daily.

Between 2024 and 2025, of the seven major FIDs announced across Africa, four were in Nigeria. This did not happen by accident, it is the result of steady work, policy clarity, and better governance. These are not rhetorics but proof that Nigeria is once again a magnet for serious business.”
In his remarks, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Group Chief Executive (Officer) Bashir Ojulari, an engineer, revealed that the firm has planned to expand the Escravos Lagos Pipeline Line (ESPL) this year.
Hear him: “Our recent achievements reflect this momentum. The presentation of the NNPC Gas Master Plan last week and the remarkable progress of our strategic gas infrastructure projects, the OB3 and the AKK pipeline and we are moving forward this year to also expand the ELPS pipeline, and the regional pipelines to their projects signal a new era of mining discipline, infrastructure development, and long-term commitments. These projects are more than a pipeline.”

NNPCL, according to him, is nurturing a new generation of professionals grounded in accountability, performance excellence and national service.
He said the strategic shifts, under the leadership of President Tinubu, is positioning Nigeria in a global competitive investment destination, from fiscal stability to policy liberalisation and security improvement.