Nigeria’s NNPC Limited, via its Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI) Division and the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), sealed a pivotal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Algeria’s Sonatrach on Wednesday, April 22, 2026.
This partnership, signed by NNPC’s Executive Vice President for Business Services, Sophia Mbakwe, and Sonatrach’s Managing Director, Khodjah Mohamed, sets up a robust framework for joint research, tech exchanges, and innovation between the two national oil giants.
The signing unfolded at the kickoff of the 3rd African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) Forum for R&D Directors, held at PTDF Tower in Abuja.
The event drew R&D leaders from APPO member nations, as highlighted in a statement from NNPC’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Andy Odeh.
Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil) and represented by former APPO Secretary General Omar Farouk Ibrahim, emphasized the forum’s role. It’s one of four APPO strategies tackling global energy transition hurdles - like funding shortages, tech gaps, and shifting markets - to keep African oil players ahead.
"The R&D forum tackles technology and expertise needs, the African Energy Bank addresses funding constraints, and the Central African Pipeline System supports regional oil and gas market integration," Lokpobiri stated.
Earlier in his remarks, Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Limited, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, represented by the Company's Chief Financial Officer, Adedapo Segun, said research and development must form a central part of the overall strategy in the African oil and gas industry.
He called for research and development centres to function as engines of industrial competitiveness. "Collaboration in research and development is of strategic importance. The cost of innovation might be high, but the cost of obsolescence would be greater," he stressed.
Ojulari called for a unified strategic framework through which resources could be pooled, data integrated and risks shared across member countries. He further urged the rapid adoption of digital technologies, artificial intelligence and advanced engineering to improve upstream, midstream and downstream operations.
On his part, the APPO Secretary General, Farid Ghezali, urged African petroleum producing countries to ensure research in the oil and gas sector produced solutions that are practical and directly relevant to the continent. "We must ensure that our research delivers solutions that are practical and of direct use to Africa," he stated.
Also speaking, Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Prof. Shu’aibu Shehu Aliyu highlighted the value of the partnership between NNPC Limited and PTDF in support of decarbonisation and environmental protection work across APPO member countries.
Chief Innovation Officer of NNPC Research, Technology and Innovation and incoming Chairman of the APPO R&D Directors Forum, Rasheed Ojulari, said the forum would give immediate priority to joint programmes in the core areas of upstream optimisation, artificial intelligence, decarbonisation processes and industrial systems development.
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