THEME SYNOPSIS:
In the evolving energy landscape, the 3 million BOPD target set by the nation can be viewed as producing the “new barrels,” redefining how oil and gas companies create value. Three things play a great role in achieving this: digital data, funding, and policy. Data has become as valuable as the hydrocarbon molecule itself. In an era of capital constraints and volatile markets, the most competitive barrel is not necessarily the one found in a new reservoir, but the one unlocked from existing assets through digital efficiency, smart capital, and protected by agile policy. With the "easy oil" gone and the global cost of capital rising, Nigeria must compete aggressively for investment
The theme posits that the digital transformation of the energy sector is no longer an IT discussion but a financial and legal imperative. OLEF 2026 will explore how African nations can redesign fiscal frameworks to de-risk major projects, making them attractive to a new breed of investors and address the critical intersection of Finance, code, and constitution. It will serve as the strategic nexus where the CIO, the CFO, and the Regulator meet, moving beyond the buzzwords of "digital transformation" and technical "how-to" to the operational realities, strategic "how-much" and "how-legal."
The forum will move beyond rhetoric to address the mechanics of funding. It will explore how Joint Operating Agreements (JOAs) can be reviewed to accommodate digital investments, how to present "asset optimization" to financiers as a de-risking mechanism, and how policy must evolve to treat data as a sovereign resource. This forum will define the symbiotic relationship required to maximize the lifespan, safety, and profitability of Nigeria’s energy assets and chart the path for a digitally integrated sector where intelligent operations are supported by intelligent regulation.
Key Issues the Theme Will Address
- The New Geometry of Project Financing and Financing the "Intangible": Capital Structuring for Digital Assets.
- Policy as a Catalyst: Fiscal Regimes for a Competitive Era and Modernizing the Fiscal Rulebook: CAPEX vs. OPEX in the Digital Age.
- Data Sovereignty vs. Operational Efficiency and Extending Asset Life through "Digital Twin" Policy.
- Protecting Critical Energy Infrastructure.