Nigeria’s push to reclaim its edge in Africa’s energy landscape gained renewed momentum as the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) unveiled sweeping reforms, fresh investment incentives and new licensing opportunities—moves aimed at rebuilding investor confidence and accelerating upstream growth.
At the maiden Energy Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ECAN) 2025 Conference in Abuja, NUPRC Chief Executive, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, said the Commission is driving a comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s oil and gas regulatory framework to create a transparent, competitive and investment-ready sector.
Komolafe — represented by the Commission’s Head of Regulatory and Statutory Compliance, Kingston Chikwendu — noted that with Nigeria holding 30% of Africa’s oil reserves and 34% of its gas, the country is uniquely positioned to anchor the continent’s energy future.
He highlighted the Project One Million Barrels Initiative, launched in 2024, as a key pillar of the nation’s production recovery plan. According to him, Nigeria is reactivating dormant fields, fast-tracking regulatory clearances and improving operational efficiency to raise output from the current 1.7–1.83 million barrels per day to 2.5 million bpd by 2026.
Despite global uncertainties, Komolafe stressed that Nigeria is charting a clear path toward stability through the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, recent presidential executive orders, and a suite of regulatory instruments designed to unlock capital and stimulate new investments.
He explained that the PIA effectively dismantled decades of bureaucratic bottlenecks under the 1969 Petroleum Act, introducing transparent fiscal incentives, clear institutional roles, host community development funds and strengthened environmental safeguards, including the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP).
Komolafe said the Commission has so far issued 19 industry regulations, all benchmarked against global standards. These, he noted, provide the regulatory stability and predictability investors require.
A major component of the reform agenda is the revitalised National Data Repository (NDR)—now Africa’s largest digital petroleum data bank—designed to give investors seamless access to high-quality geoscientific data. Through seismic reprocessing, advanced basin analysis and targeted data acquisition, the NUPRC is deepening subsurface knowledge and de-risking exploration.
The Chief Executive also cited the unprecedented success of recent bid rounds—including the 57 Petroleum Prospecting Licences (PPLs) in 2022, the 2022 Mini-Bid Round, and the 2024 Licensing Round—which he attributed to transparency, quality data access and a pro-investor fiscal regime featuring competitive royalty structures and zero hydrocarbon tax for qualifying projects.
Beyond investment attraction, the Commission reported progress in curbing crude theft and pipeline vandalism through the approval of 37 new evacuation routes and enhanced security collaboration. The strengthened enforcement of the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation (DCSO), he added, is ensuring adequate feedstock to local refineries and supporting government efforts toward fuel supply stability.
Also speaking at the event, the Chief Executive Officer of the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), Muhammad Al-Amin Kassim, urged stakeholders to sustain the momentum of PIA-driven reforms, warning that only consistent and effective implementation will guarantee real value for Nigerians.
Kassim noted that the establishment of the NUPRC and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) had already improved transparency and reduced regulatory uncertainty. However, he said gaps remain—particularly in the implementation of Host Community Development Trusts, infrastructure access and competition safeguards.
Earlier, the ECAN Chairman, John Ofikhenua, described the conference as a “historic moment,” marking a deeper national reflection on the PIA’s performance four years after its passage. He said the journey to the Act’s enactment in 2021 was long and challenging, with years of policy inconsistencies, fuel queues and opaque decision-making underscoring the urgent need for reform.
Ofikhenua stressed that the conference should drive conversations that assess the gains made, address lingering gaps and propose concrete pathways to achieving the full promise of the PIA.
