Nigeria leads Africa in Signing Landmark Petroleum Regulators Forum Charter

Keep up with the latest news and be part of our weekly giveaways and airtime sharing; follow our WhatsApp channel for more updates. Click to Follow us

Nigeria has officially signed the African Petroleum Regulators Forum (AFRIPERF) Charter, joining seven other countries in what officials hailed as a major milestone for harmonising oil and gas regulations across the continent.

The signing took place on Thursday during the 31st Africa Oil Week in Accra, Ghana, under the chairmanship of the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe.

In a statement issued by NUPRC’s Head of Media and Strategic Communications, Eniola Akinkuotu, Komolafe described the move as “a decisive step towards building a harmonised and sustainable petroleum industry in Africa”.

The statement further stressed, “Nigeria has once again demonstrated leadership in Africa’s oil and gas sector by spearheading the signing of a charter to birth the African Petroleum Regulators Forum.”

Eight nations — Nigeria, Ghana, Somalia, Gambia, Madagascar, Sudan, Guinea, and Togo — signed the document, while Kenya, Mauritania, Benin, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia, South Africa, and Morocco pledged their support, promising to join after national consultations.

Komolafe highlighted that the idea for AFRIPERF was first introduced at the 8th Sub-Saharan Africa International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference in 2024, with subsequent discussions held in July and November that year.

According to the charter, the forum’s mission is “to enhance cooperation and collaboration among African petroleum regulators to ensure a safe, efficient, rewarding, equitable, and sustainable petroleum industry.” Its vision is to serve as a central platform for knowledge sharing, best practices, and expertise exchange among regulators.

The framework lays out principles to foster collaboration, drive regulatory harmonisation, safeguard environmental standards, strengthen institutional capacity, and attract much-needed investment. It also commits to protecting the shared interests of African member states in global forums while advancing energy transition goals through “digitalisation, renewable integration and emission reduction”.

Komolafe emphasised the importance of forward-looking leadership, stating that Africa must act with “innovation, responsibility and foresight” as the global energy sector shifts toward cleaner alternatives. He also proposed that AFRIPERF’s Annual General Meeting be held alongside Africa Oil Week to ensure broader participation and visibility.

The signing was witnessed by regulators from 16 countries, with Senator Etang Williams, Chairman of Nigeria’s Senate Committee on Upstream, attending as an observer.

This development comes shortly after NUPRC announced that its reform agenda had unlocked “$18.2 billion worth of Field Development Plans for 2025”, a milestone reflecting renewed investor confidence in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum industry.

Please don’t forget to “Allow the notification” so you will be the first to get our gist when we publish it. 
Drop your comment in the section below, and don’t forget to share the post