• Sonatrach–NNPC agreement targets joint R&D and technology exchange
• Partnership prioritizes AI, upstream optimization and decarbonisation
• Initiative aligns with Africa’s broader push for energy financing and innovation

Nigeria’s state-oil company NNPC and its Algerian peer Sonatrach signed a memorandum of understanding on April 22, establishing a formal framework for collaboration in research, development and technology exchange between the two national oil companies.  According to a statement from NNPC, the agreement is being implemented through NNPC’s Research, Technology and Innovation division in partnership with the Petroleum Technology Development Fund.

The cooperation places research and development at the center of Africa’s energy strategy. “Collaboration in research and development is of strategic importance. The cost of innovation might be high, but the cost of obsolescence would be greater,” said NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer Bashir Bayo Ojulari, represented at the signing ceremony.

The partnership is expected to focus on priority areas including upstream optimization, artificial intelligence, industrial systems development and decarbonisation processes. These themes reflect a growing emphasis among African producers on improving operational efficiency while responding to global pressures around sustainability and energy transition.

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) Forum for R&D Directors, which brings together member countries to coordinate responses to structural challenges facing the sector. According to Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, represented by APPO officials, these challenges revolve around three key constraints: access to financing, technological capacity and market integration.

Within this framework, research cooperation is positioned as a critical lever for closing Africa’s technology gap in the oil and gas industry. APPO Secretary General Farid Ghezali stressed the need for practical outcomes, noting that research efforts must deliver solutions “of direct use to Africa.”

Beyond its bilateral scope, the initiative aligns with wider continental efforts involving Algeria, Nigeria and Angola to operationalize the Africa Energy Bank, a financing mechanism designed to support oil and gas projects as access to international capital becomes more constrained.

By Cynthia Ebot Takang