Nigeria Approves $47.6bn in Oil and Gas Projects as Production Hits 1.82 Million Barrels Per Day

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has approved 120 oil and gas field development plans totaling $47.6bn in capital expenditure since 2024, as Nigeria's oil production reaches 1.82 million barrels per day. NUPRC Chief Executive Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan announced this at an event celebrating the commission's fifth anniversary under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021. The approved projects are expected to add 1.74 million barrels of oil and 13.9 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day to Nigeria's production capacity, including the $10.3bn Zabazaba-Etan development in OPL 245, which had faced delays for over two decades.

Eyesan noted that Nigeria accounted for 38% of all upstream investment sanctioned in Africa in 2025, up from an average of 4% between 2015 and 2023. Oil production increased from 1.44 million barrels per day in 2022 to an average of 1.75 million barrels per day in the first seven months of 2026, rising further to 1.82 million barrels per day. Gas production also rose from 6.83 billion standard cubic feet per day in 2022 to about 7.97 billion standard cubic feet per day in the same period.

The NUPRC has streamlined approval processes, reducing the time to reactivate shut-in wells from weeks to hours and approving 37 new crude evacuation routes. The commission is entering an “age of compliance,” where licensees' compliance records will be scored and published. Eyesan set targets of 3 million barrels per day of oil and 12 billion standard cubic feet per day of gas by 2030.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, emphasized deploying petroleum resources to support economic diversification. He highlighted the PIA's role in providing clearer rules and a predictable regulatory framework, along with fiscal incentives like the Deep Offshore Oil and Gas Project Incentive Tax Remission Order 2026, aimed at unlocking $50bn in new investment. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Heineken Lokpobiri urged faster regulatory decisions to attract additional capital, noting that drilling activities have increased from fewer than 10 to over 70 since 2023.