Abuja: The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has announced that the nation is on course to reach a crude oil production goal of 2.5 million barrels per day by 2026.
NUPRC Chief Executive, Mr Gbenga Komolafe, said this on Thursday in Abuja during the 4th PENGASSAN and Labour Summit (PEALS 2025), a key industry event that brings together stakeholders to discuss and strategise on the future of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
The summit was themed “Building a Resilient Oil and Gas Sector in Nigeria: Advancing HSE, ESG, Investment and Incremental Production.”
He highlighted the significant progress in Nigeria’s oil production, with the current output increasing from 1.46 million barrels per day in October 2024 to 1.8 million barrels per day. This momentum is a promising sign that the country is on track to achieve the 2026 target.
He credited the recent Presidential Executive Orders under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 for shortening contracting cycles, reducing investment risks, and encouraging upstream projects, which have significantly contributed to the increase in Nigeria’s oil output.
Komolafe highlighted the commission’s efforts in deepwater exploration, a technique that involves drilling for oil and gas in water depths of more than 1,000 feet, reactivation of dormant fields, and adoption of enhanced recovery techniques.
He also referenced a recent Deepwater Technical Stakeholders’ Workshop, which focused on unlocking more than 810,000 barrels per day in new production.
He outlined a cluster development strategy aimed at reducing costs, sharing infrastructure, and strengthening investor confidence.
On sustainability, Komolafe said the NUPRC’s Upstream Decarbonisation Framework targeted the elimination of routine gas flaring by 2030 and a 60 per cent reduction in methane emissions by 2031.
He underscored the pivotal role of Nigeria’s 210 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves in the global energy transition, providing a hopeful outlook for the country’s energy future.
He called for stronger collaboration between government, industry, and labour, emphasising that resilience in the sector must be a collective and deliberate effort.
Also speaking, Mr Jagie Baxi, Managing Director of ExxonMobil, identified four critical factors for boosting Nigeria’s oil production: geology, cost, risk, and reward.
He warned that, despite Nigeria’s vast hydrocarbon resources, the natural production decline, especially in deepwater operations, remained a challenge, with operators losing about 15% of their output annually.
Baxi noted that high drilling and operational costs in Nigeria deterred fresh investment.
He stressed the need for risk-adjusted incentives to retain investor interest and urged improved collaboration among stakeholders to resolve disputes and revive underperforming fields.
