Investors’ 11-year wait for the Nigerian government to open up Africa’s biggest crude industry may be over.

An overhaul of oil policy that’s been in the works for more than a decade is among a raft of laws President Muhammadu Buhari could steer through parliament in his second term to help drive investment in the oil-dependent economy. The delays cost an estimated $15 billion a year in lost funding for the industry over the past decade, according to the Petroleum Ministry.
The ability to implement reforms would mark a departure from Buhari’s first four years in office, when he faced hostile leaders of both chambers of the legislature. Since his re-election in February, Buhari loyalists have taken over as the heads of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

“Expect an improved level of harmony between the National Assembly and the president going forward,” said Luke Ofojebe, an analyst at Lagos-based Vetiva Capital Ltd.

The urgency to get the oil reforms going was signalled by a July 4 meeting between the new Senate president, Ahmed Lawan, and head of Exxon Mobil Corp.’s Nigerian unit, Paul McGrath, where they discussed the quick passage of the bill.

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