RismadarVoice Reporters, April 23, 2026
Nigeria’s NNPC Limited has entered into a new research and innovation partnership with Algeria’s Sonatrach, signing a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at strengthening collaboration in oil and gas technology development, knowledge exchange, and industrial innovation across Africa.
The agreement was formalised by NNPC Limited’s Executive Vice President, Business Services, Sophia Mbakwe, and Sonatrach’s Managing Director, Khodjah Mohamed, under the Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI) framework.
It establishes a structured platform for joint research initiatives, technical cooperation, and shared technological advancement between the two national oil companies.
The signing ceremony took place during the opening of the 3rd Meeting of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO) Forum for R&D Directors, hosted at the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) Tower in Abuja. The gathering brought together research and development leaders from member states of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation to align strategies for innovation in the sector.
Speaking at the event, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, represented by former APPO Secretary General Omar Farouk Ibrahim, said the forum was part of broader continental efforts to address challenges posed by the global energy transition, particularly in financing, technology access, and market integration.
He noted that APPO’s initiatives including the African Energy Bank, the Central African Pipeline System, and the R&D Forum are designed to strengthen Africa’s capacity to respond to shifting global energy dynamics.
Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, represented by Chief Financial Officer Adedapo Segun, stressed the need for African oil and gas operators to place research and development at the centre of industry strategy. He called for stronger collaboration across national boundaries, emphasising shared resources, integrated data systems, and collective risk management.
“The cost of innovation may be high, but the cost of obsolescence is far greater,” he said, urging faster adoption of digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and advanced engineering solutions across upstream, midstream, and downstream operations.
APPO Secretary General Farid Ghezali reinforced the need for research outcomes that are practical and directly applicable to Africa’s energy sector, while Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, Prof. Shu’aibu Shehu Aliyu, highlighted the importance of the NNPC–PTDF partnership in advancing decarbonisation and environmental sustainability initiatives across member countries.
Chief Innovation Officer of NNPC’s Research, Technology and Innovation division and incoming Chair of the APPO R&D Directors Forum, Rasheed Ojulari, said the forum would prioritise collaborative programmes in upstream optimisation, artificial intelligence, decarbonisation processes, and industrial systems development.
The MoU is expected to deepen cooperation between Africa’s leading oil producers, positioning research and innovation as central pillars in the continent’s energy transition strategy.
