The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has urged the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to strengthen its role in facilitating new investments, especially in deepwater oil projects, to help Nigeria remain competitive in the global energy market.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mr. Bayo Ojulari, made this known in an interview published in The Upstream Gaze, a special edition of the NUPRC’s in-house magazine released on Wednesday to mark the Commission’s fourth anniversary.
Ojulari commended the NUPRC for its performance since its establishment, noting that the Commission had made remarkable progress in digitalising licensing and regulatory procedures, improving crude oil measurement and metering systems, conducting transparent bid rounds that attracted new investors, and promoting gas flare commercialisation and domestic gas supply programmes.
Despite these milestones, the NNPCL boss stressed that more still needs to be done to improve Nigeria’s competitiveness and attract fresh investments into the oil and gas sector.
“Going forward, I would urge the Commission to continue to prioritise investment facilitation, especially around deepwater projects, and to create even more efficient regulatory approval cycles,” Ojulari said. “The global competition for capital is fierce, and Nigeria must remain attractive to investors.”
Earlier this year, the NUPRC announced a plan to unlock an additional 810,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Nigeria’s deepwater fields through a cluster and nodal development initiative. If fully implemented, the initiative could raise Nigeria’s total monthly crude production by about 2.51 million barrels per day, including condensates.
This move, according to energy analysts, could boost government revenue, improve the country’s compliance with OPEC+ production quotas, and strengthen the oil sector’s contribution to the economy.
Speaking on NNPCL’s strategic focus, Ojulari said his leadership would prioritise gas as a transition fuel while driving oil and gas production growth and enhancing domestic energy security.
“We plan to unlock Nigeria’s over 200 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves to power industries, generate electricity, and support export growth,” he said.
Ojulari reaffirmed the company’s commitment to achieving President Bola Tinubu’s energy production target of three million barrels of crude oil per day and 12 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day by 2030. He said these targets would be achieved through brownfield and greenfield developments, the execution of Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) in deepwater projects, and increased exploration in frontier basins.
He emphasised that continued collaboration with the NUPRC would be essential, given that NNPCL and its partners currently account for over 95 per cent of Nigeria’s total oil production.
Ojulari also highlighted the impact of ongoing reforms within the NNPCL, including the creation of the NNPC Production War Room, the Industry-Wide Security Architecture, and periodic industry leadership engagements. These initiatives, he said, have significantly improved production efficiency, enhanced cooperation among stakeholders, and reduced oil theft in key producing regions.
“The War Room, launched in mid-2024, has been a major success story. It helped streamline processes, resolve bottlenecks, and sustain base production,” he explained.
He added that the Industry-Wide Security Architecture has improved coordination between private security companies, government agencies, regulators, and host communities, leading to safer crude evacuation, higher terminal recovery, and reduced cases of pipeline vandalism.
According to him, these collective efforts have raised Nigeria’s annual average crude and condensate production to over 1.7 million barrels per day—the highest output since 2020—and have restored confidence among key players in the oil and gas industry.
Ojulari also spoke on the company’s progress in boosting domestic refining capacity, saying the ongoing rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries was nearing completion. He said NNPCL was also supporting private sector refiners such as the Dangote Refinery and modular refinery operators to strengthen local production capacity and reduce reliance on fuel imports.
“We are finalising the rehabilitation of our refineries and partnering with the private sector to build a sustainable and competitive downstream market,” he said. “Our goal is not just about increasing numbers but ensuring energy security, creating jobs, and driving growth across the value chain.”
