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NAPE President seeks increased exploration, technology investment to grow Nigeria’s oil reserves – EnviroNews
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The President of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), Mrs. Olajumoke Cecilia Ajayi, has called for increased investment in exploration, technological innovation and indigenous technical capabilities to unlock Nigeria’s untapped oil and gas reserves.
Ajayi said Nigeria must prioritise exploration to replenish depleted reserves and sustain production as mature oil fields decline, stressing that the country’s future petroleum resources would depend on the industry’s ability to explore more, explore deeper and explore smarter.
She made the call on Monday, November 9, 2026, in Lagos while delivering her opening remarks at the 44th NAPE Annual International Conference and Exhibition, with the theme, “Unlocking More Barrels: Driving Reserves Growth Through Exploration, Local Capabilities & Adaptive Technology.”
According to her, the central question confronting Nigeria’s petroleum industry should be where the country’s next barrels of oil will come from, particularly as significant resources remain undiscovered, unappraised and undeveloped.
She said unlocking these resources would require the right combination of geological understanding, investment, technology and determination to bring them into the national economy.
“That is why this year’s theme, ‘Unlocking More Barrels: Driving Reserves Growth Through Exploration, Local Capabilities & Adaptive Technology,’ is both a call to action and a reflection of where our industry stands today. This is not only about producing more. It is also about unlocking more,” she said.
Ajayi observed that as mature fields continued to decline and reserves were depleted, exploration must become a strategic priority for the country.
She noted that Nigeria’s mature basins still held significant opportunities, while frontier and underexplored basins required deeper geological understanding and the willingness to undertake calculated risks.
“We must explore more, explore deeper, and explore smarter,” she stated.
The NAPE president, however, cautioned that exploration practices must evolve to reflect technological advancements and the changing realities of the petroleum industry.
She identified advanced seismic imaging, basin modelling, artificial intelligence, machine learning and digital workflows as some of the technologies transforming how geoscientists understand and interpret the subsurface.
According to her, the industry must adopt adaptive technologies that respond to Nigeria’s geological conditions, economic environment, data availability and operational realities rather than embracing innovations simply because they are new.
She maintained that technological advancement must complement, rather than replace, sound geological knowledge and professional judgement.
“Yet technology is not a substitute for geological thinking. The future belongs to the explorer who can combine both,” she said.
Beyond technology, Ajayi identified human capacity development as another critical requirement for unlocking Nigeria’s next generation of oil and gas resources.
She argued that exploration success depended not only on sophisticated equipment and digital tools but also on the expertise, experience and judgement of the professionals deploying them.
“No seismic workstation discovers a field by itself. No algorithm interprets a basin without human judgement. If we are to unlock Nigeria’s next generation of barrels, we must also unlock the potential of our people,” she said.
She called for a transition in Nigeria’s local content policy from mere participation to the development of indigenous technical and operational capabilities.
According to her, Nigerian professionals and companies must be equipped to undertake increasingly complex technical, operational and commercial assignments within the petroleum industry.
She said achieving this would require sustained investment in human capital, institutions, research, technology and knowledge, supported by stronger collaboration among industry operators, government, academia and professional associations.
Ajayi reaffirmed NAPE’s commitment to developing the next generation of exploration professionals, identifying the association’s NAPE Academy as one of its initiatives for equipping young professionals with the knowledge, skills and confidence required to lead the industry.
She urged stakeholders to strengthen professional development programmes and create opportunities for young Nigerian geoscientists and engineers to acquire practical experience and contribute meaningfully to exploration activities.
The NAPE president also highlighted the challenges associated with financing exploration, particularly in frontier basins, describing the business as capital-intensive and inherently risky.
She said attracting the required investments would depend on creating an enabling environment that gives investors confidence in acreage access, geological data, regulatory frameworks, fiscal stability and security.
She added that investors must also have confidence in the availability of a credible pathway for moving from discoveries to development and commercial production.
According to her, addressing these challenges requires coordinated action across the petroleum industry rather than isolated interventions.
“This is an ecosystem challenge, and therefore it requires an ecosystem response,” she said.
Ajayi described the annual conference as more than an industry gathering, saying it provided an opportunity for professionals and stakeholders to challenge existing assumptions, exchange knowledge, build partnerships and translate ideas into practical action.
She urged participants to measure the success of the conference not only by the quality of discussions and presentations but also by the actions and partnerships that would emerge after the event.
She challenged geoscientists and engineers to sustain their exploration efforts, young professionals to continue learning, and indigenous companies to develop capabilities that could compete internationally.
She also called on international partners to deepen their engagement with Nigeria beyond the extraction of petroleum resources, stressing the importance of building local expertise and sustainable industry capabilities.
“To our partners: partner with Nigeria not only for what can be extracted, but for what can be built,” she said.
Ajayi urged stakeholders to focus on improving geological data, deploying appropriate technologies, strengthening indigenous capabilities and attracting investment to support the growth of the country’s petroleum reserves.
“Let us not simply ask where the next barrel is. Let us build the capability to find it,” she added.
She formally welcomed participants to the 44th NAPE Annual International Conference and Exhibition, expressing optimism that the gathering would produce meaningful discussions, partnerships and outcomes for Nigeria’s petroleum exploration sector.
