President Bola Tinubu says Petrobras, a Brazilian state-owned oil company, will return to Nigeria soon.
Tinubu spoke on Monday at a joint press conference in Brasília during his state visit to Brazil, according to a statement on Tuesday by Bayo Onanuga, his special adviser on information and strategy.
The president said Petrobras’ return would reignite economic cooperation in the energy sector between both countries.
He, therefore, welcomed the imminent return of the state-owned company to Nigeria.
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“We have the largest gas repository. So I don’t see why Petrobras doesn’t join as a partner in Nigeria as soon as possible,” Tinubu was quoted as saying.
“I appreciate President Lula’s promise that this will be done as soon as possible.”
Onanuga said both countries also reached several other agreements at the meeting, including one that will see Air Peace, Nigeria’s national flag carrier, begin direct flight operations from Lagos to the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo soon.
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Petrobras, which began operations in Nigeria in 1998, eventually sold off its stakes decades later to raise cash for domestic projects.
In May 2017, the Brazilian national oil firm decided to divest $21 billion worth of assets, following a dramatic increase in the company’s debt to $100 billion at the time.
In May 2025, Vice-President Kashim Shettima said Petrobras is seeking to re-enter Nigeria’s oil sector, with a specific interest in frontier deepwater acreage.
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