The Managing Director of TotalEnergies Nigeria, Mathieu Bouyer, has warned that inconsistent policies, weak regulatory enforcement and safety lapses risk undermining Nigeria’s ability to attract global capital, as the oil major positions itself for production growth, power expansion and near-net-zero projects.

Speaking during the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2026) in Abuja, Bouyer stressed Nigeria must remain globally competitive to secure investment in an era where international oil companies (IOCs) are allocating limited capital across multiple jurisdictions.

“When it comes to global capital allocation, one of our daily challenges is demonstrating that investments in Nigeria represent the strongest opportunities within our portfolio. We are competing with other countries and projects for capital, so Nigeria must remain attractive”, Bouyer said.

Already, Nigeria is seeking to reverse declining oil production, deepen gas development and consolidate reforms under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). While recent final investment decisions and project sanctions suggest renewed momentum, industry leaders say policy predictability and regulatory clarity remain decisive factors for sustained inflows.

Bouyer outlined TotalEnergies’ Nigerian strategy around two core pillars – expanding oil and gas production and developing integrated power solutions.

However, he acknowledged that the company’s portfolio in Nigeria remains more weighted towards upstream hydrocarbons.

“Our strategy is about growing energy as a whole,” he said, noting that the company continues to maximise value from existing onshore and offshore assets.

He referenced projects sanctioned in recent years, including developing a capacity of 10 million cubic metres per day, with additional opportunities under evaluation.

Also, TotalEnergies is advancing lower-carbon initiatives as Bouyer disclosed that the company had eliminated routine flaring across its Nigerian facilities since 2023 and deployed methane detection sensors to monitor emissions in real time.

He added that a five-megawatt solar plant at OML 58 would soon power the Ubeta gas project, describing it as one of the first near-net-zero gas developments globally.

Beyond upstream operations, the company issued a more pointed warning regarding Nigeria’s deregulated downstream petroleum market, arguing that deregulation without firm enforcement could entrench instability rather than efficiency.

The company said the exit of several multinational operators from Nigeria’s downstream space over the years was not due to a lack of capital, but rather due to regulatory uncertainty, inconsistent policies and weak safety enforcement that created an uneven playing field.

“Capital alone does not build a sustainable downstream market. No serious investor wants to operate in an environment where policies are inconsistent and safety standards are weak,” the company said.

TotalEnergies, which describes itself as the only remaining multinational with a significant downstream retail footprint in Nigeria, operates more than 500 service stations nationwide. It maintained that healthy competition could only thrive when all players adhere to uniform safety, quality and operational benchmarks.

Nigeria’s petrol subsidy removal in 2023 marked a structural shift to a market-driven pricing regime. While the move was widely seen as necessary to address fiscal distortions, it has exposed supply chain inefficiencies, price volatility and quality concerns, particularly among smaller operators.

Bouyer also pushed back against narratives framing IOCs and indigenous companies as competitors in a zero-sum contest.

He cited long-standing partnerships with local firms, including AMNI, Conoil and Sapetro, highlighting collaborations on deepwater projects such as Egina and Akpo-Condensate.

According to him, such partnerships enable faster execution, technology transfer and greater value creation for the country.

“When we are with local partners, it is an enabler to go quicker and unlock value, not only for ourselves, but for the country,” he said.