President Bola Tinubu on Thursday, met the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), a major trade union representing junior and production workers in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
Although details of the meeting was not immediately available at the time of this report, BusinessDay sources at the Presidential Villa, said it may not be unconnected with the ongoing restructuring of the petroleum sector by the President.
The NUPENG officials, were on arrival ushered directly into the meeting hall inside the President’s office
The President had recently announced plans to restructure the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited NNPCL to prepare it for listing on the capital market
It was gathered that the President met the Union whose responsibilities include amongst others, to protect workers’ welfare, negotiates employment terms, and handles industrial relations across the country’s energy industry, to prepare them for the new oil and gas sector
The Union advocates for junior staff and petroleum tanker drivers across oil majors and service companies.
Just few days ago, the President also approved a landmark reform that replaces project-by-project negotiations with a transparent investment framework designed to unlock up to US$50 billion in deep offshore investment and restart Nigeria’s large, capital-intensive offshore developments that have remained stalled for decades.
The approval also enables NNPC Limited, as the Government’s nominated counterparty under the Production Sharing Contracts, to proceed with the necessary amendments to eligible Production Sharing Contracts required to implement the framework.
The reform establishes a transparent, rules-based investment framework capable of supporting the next generation of deep offshore developments, beginning with the approximately US$10 billion Bonga South West project, while strengthening Nigeria’s competitiveness for globally mobile investment capital, according to Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Spokesman
Onanuga had stated that the decision builds on President Tinubu’s engagement with the Chief Executive Officer of Shell plc, Wael Sawan, during which the President directed the development of the next wave of measures required to unlock Nigeria’s deep offshore investment pipeline.
‘Rather than pursuing project-specific solutions, the Federal Government transformed that directive into a comprehensive investment framework applicable across multiple categories of qualifying developments.
‘Given effect through the Deep Offshore Oil and Gas Projects Incentives (Tax Remission) Order, 2026, the framework replaces project-by-project negotiations with transparent eligibility criteria, clear implementation processes and a durable investment architecture that provides greater certainty for investors while safeguarding long-term national value’.