Nigeria Eyes Fresh 250,000bpd Output

LAGOS – The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has promised holders of Petroleum Prospecting Licences (PPLs) of its full support to enable them progress from award to first oil, as the Federal Government moves to convert idle assets into active production.

The Commission says it expects the 22 awardees from the latest licensing rounds to contribute at least 250,000 barrels of oil per day to the national production volume, a strategic addition to increase Nigeria’s output.

The Commission Chief Executive (CCE), Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, spoke in Lagos at a two-day onboarding workshop for PPL holders from the 2022/2023 and 2024 Licensing Rounds.

She said: “For this set of awardees, we are expecting nothing less than 250,000 barrels per day in the next five years at least from the 22 awards,” Eyesan said, adding that “Nigeria remains on course to hit 3mmbopd by 2030.”

She explained that the onboarding workshop was set up to guide the PPL holders on their journey to first oil, adding that the Commission assembled subject matter experts from the NUPRC and leading professionals from the legal and financial sectors to provide first-hand guidance on financing, compliance and commerciality.

She said that on the first day of the workshop, there were five key sessions cutting across the entire journey from award to first oil, to ensure awardees understand their obligations and opportunities under the PIA.

These, she said, include regulatory framework, work programme obligations, exploration, appraisal and commerciality, field development and well operations, production optimisation, and exploration financing.

Mrs Eyesan urged the awardees to be deliberate, technical, and accountable in executing their work programmes, warning that the Commission will no longer tolerate speculative holding of assets.

She told journalists that the Commission has issued a directive that by October 31, 2026, all idle licences will be revoked in line with the drill-or-drop policy.

Mohammed Shosanya is a graduate of Mass Communication from the University of Lagos Akoka.He also bagged Msc in Political Science from the same institution.He was an an Assistant Editor with Media Trust Limited before joining this flagship newspaper last year.He is versatile journalist and loves reading and travelling.

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