The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sonatrach, Algeria’s national oil company, to strengthen cooperation in research, development and innovation across the oil and gas sector.
NNPC disclosed in a statement on Wednesday that the agreement was executed through its Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI) Division in collaboration with the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF).
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The MoU was signed by NNPC’s Executive Vice President, Business Services, Sophia Mbakwe, and Sonatrach’s Managing Director, Khodjah Mohamed.
According to the statement, the agreement provides a formal framework for joint work in research and technology exchange between the two national oil companies.
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The signing took place during the opening ceremony of the 3rd Meeting of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO) Forum for Research and Development Directors, held at the PTDF Tower in Abuja.
The forum brought together R&D directors from APPO member countries to deliberate on shared industry challenges and opportunities.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, represented by a former APPO Secretary General, Omar Ibrahim, said the forum is one of four strategic initiatives introduced by APPO to address challenges arising from the global energy transition.
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He explained that while the R&D forum focuses on technology and expertise, the proposed African Energy Bank is designed to tackle funding constraints, and the Central African Pipeline System aims to enhance regional market integration.
In his remarks, NNPC’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Bashir Ojulari, represented by the Chief Financial Officer, Adedapo Segun, emphasised the central role of research and development in the future of Africa’s oil and gas industry.
He said R&D centres must evolve into drivers of industrial competitiveness, warning that while innovation may be costly, the consequences of technological stagnation would be greater.
Mr Ojulari also called for a unified strategic framework among African producers to enable resource pooling, data integration and risk-sharing.
He further urged the adoption of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence and advanced engineering, to improve efficiency across upstream, midstream and downstream operations.
APPO Secretary General, Farid Ghezali, stressed the need for research efforts to yield practical solutions tailored to Africa’s specific needs.
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“We must ensure that our research delivers solutions that are practical and of direct use to Africa,” he said.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of PTDF, Shu’aibu Aliyu, highlighted the importance of the partnership in advancing decarbonisation and environmental sustainability initiatives across APPO member states.
Chief Innovation Officer of NNPC’s RTI Division and incoming Chairman of the APPO R&D Directors Forum, Rasheed Ojulari, said the forum would prioritise joint programmes in upstream optimisation, artificial intelligence, decarbonisation and industrial systems development.
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