Nigeria must urgently invest $5.5 billion in decentralised oil terminals to unlock thousands of stranded marginal fields and push crude oil production to three million barrels per day (bpd), stakeholders in the energy sector have warned. This call comes just as Green Energy International Limited (GEIL) unveiled a 350,000-bpd Otakikpo Onshore Terminal in Port Harcourt, Rivers State — the first of its kind built by an indigenous African operator in decades.
The Chairman of Green Energy, Prof. Anthony Adegbulugbe, made this known during a tour of the terminal site, calling for the swift removal of bottlenecks affecting infrastructure development in the oil sector. According to him, Nigeria’s oil production target under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda will remain a dream unless more decentralised terminals are built across the Niger Delta.
He stated that Nigeria has enough oil reserves — estimated at over 37 billion barrels — but is hampered by limited infrastructure. “To move from two to three million barrels per day, we need capacity for an extra 1.2 million barrels. Green Energy alone cannot close that gap. We need at least four more terminals like this,” he said.
Adegbulugbe, a former Special Adviser on Energy to the President, said GEIL has already identified five critical locations across Nigeria where similar terminals can be developed. The estimated cost to develop them is $5.5 billion. According to him, building decentralized hubs will unlock smaller oil fields that currently remain idle due to lack of export infrastructure.
“The Otakikpo Terminal is not just steel and pumps. It is a symbol of hope, opportunity, and economic transformation. It shows that Nigerian companies can deliver world-class projects and lead industry change,” Adegbulugbe told guests at the launch, praising partners like Cakasa, Fidelity Bank, West African Ventures, and local community leaders for their role in the successful delivery of the terminal.
The facility, which currently uses only four per cent of its full capacity, is expected to see its first export vessel between May 28 and June 2. Adegbulugbe explained that the terminal can accept crude oil via truck, barge, river, pipeline, and even Atlantic transport — a flexibility he says is unmatched in Nigeria’s oil logistics network.
Dr Kayode Adegbulugbe, another key figure in the project, said Nigeria must urgently decentralise oil infrastructure, especially with rising pipeline vandalism and theft. He proposed a network of coastal hubs to support oil, gas, and water processing in three phases, thereby enabling marginal fields up to 50 kilometres away to connect to the export system.
He also argued that building shared infrastructure will cut production costs by up to 40 percent. “Think of it like carpooling,” he said. “Central services, staff, logistics — when you share those across multiple producers, everyone wins.”
With the Otakikpo terminal costing around $400 million, he said achieving the national goal will require deeper investment and cooperation. “No country should settle for small hubs. We need large hubs working together. When we scale to 50,000 to 60,000 bpd, more pipelines will be necessary,” he added.
Adegbulugbe identified the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) as a vital partner in scaling operations, noting that the national oil company controls most of the land and reserves. “We have shown global banks we can deliver. But scaling up requires trust, capital, and partnership. NNPC is key,” he said.
The new terminal is expected to attract financing for otherwise unviable projects. Marginal oil fields producing between 15,000 and 20,000 bpd often struggle to raise capital because they lack access to evacuation infrastructure. With decentralised hubs, however, these fields can become profitable, attracting investors to long-term gas and oil projects.
Fidelity Bank, one of the key financiers of the terminal, echoed these sentiments. Emeka Nkemakolam, Head of Energy and Power at the bank, said the project could redefine how marginal field operators think about scale and access. “Our support is not just transactional, it’s foundational,” he said. “We’ve backed indigenous companies from the start and will keep doing so as they expand infrastructure.”
He called on oil producers with stranded assets to revisit their plans. “If your current bank doesn’t understand what this facility means, come to us,” he said, pointing out that many fields became uneconomical purely due to the lack of evacuation options.
He also warned that time is not on the operators’ side. “Marginal field licences expire if they’re not used within two years. The government needs the royalties, and we need the production. This terminal changes the game,” Nkemakolam added.
The goal, according to stakeholders, is not just to raise Nigeria’s oil production from two to three million bpd, but eventually to five million barrels per day over the next five years — a level that could boost revenue, create jobs, and position Nigeria as Africa’s leading oil powerhouse.
