Nigeria’s Energy Projects May Face Risks as Italian Tecnimont Comes Under International Legal Pressure

Nigeria’s drive to expand domestic refining, petrochemical capacity and future clean-energy infrastructure could face indirect risks as Italian engineering giant Tecnimont comes under mounting financial and legal pressure abroad. The company, which is part of Italy’s MAIRE Group, is a major contractor across Africa and is tied to Nigeria’s refining upgrades, gas processing, and early-stage hydrogen initiatives, especially the Port Harcourt project. As both the private and public sectors look to new refinery investments and modular plants, uncertainties around Tecnimont’s global liquidity and cross-border banking access may influence future contracting in West Africa.

The concern grew after Russian producer EuroChem confirmed to RBC that it has asked 16 Italian banks to freeze all transactions of Tecnimont S.p.A. and its Russian subsidiary, MT Russia, totalling 115 million dollars. The request accompanies a far larger 2,5 billion dollar lawsuit connected to Tecnimont’s withdrawal from an ammonia–urea project in Russia.

Russian courts have already frozen Tecnimont’s assets locally and recognised parent company MAIRE S.p.A. as co-respondent in the dispute. Internal financial analyses show that MAIRE did not disclose the potential 2,5 billion dollar liability in its reporting, even though Tecnimont accounts for 94% of the Group’s revenue and is at the centre of the legal case.

Nigeria’s interest in Tecnimont extends beyond refineries. The company’s green-technology arm, NextChem, is developing green hydrogen and waste-to-chemical projects globally—technologies Nigeria has signaled intent to adopt as it moves to diversify energy sources, reduce emissions, and build competitive downstream industries.

The core concern for Nigeria is the risk of cross-border enforcement. The Google–South Africa case stands as a significant precedent: South African courts recognised and enforced a Russian judgment, freezing Google’s corporate assets. Analysts say this demonstrates that if EuroChem extends its enforcement push outside Europe, Tecnimont-linked assets or project-related receivables in emerging-market jurisdictions could be scrutinised.

For countries like Nigeria, where large-scale engineering capacity is often supplied by European firms, banking restrictions or liquidity tightening could complicate procurement plans, contract guarantees, or joint-venture timelines. While Nigeria is not directly involved in the EuroChem case refining, petrochemicals, gas processing and future hydrogen investments rely on globally stable contractors.With the EuroChem–Tecnimont dispute expanding into Europe’s banking channels, the stability of international engineering partners may become a key factor in Nigeria’s next phase of energy-sector development.