Nigeria's Oil Block Awards Won't Meet 3m BPD Target Without Technology Deployment
The Society of Petroleum Engineers, Nigeria Council, has warned that awarding new oil blocks alone will not be enough to help Nigeria achieve its target of producing three million barrels of crude oil per day by 2030.
The professional body's chairman, Francis Nwaochei, stated this during a pre-event press conference ahead of the 49th Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition scheduled for August 3 to 5 at the Eko Hotel & Suites in Lagos.
Awarding oil blocks is only the catalyst; converting exploration licences into daily producing volumes requires rapid technology deployment, reservoir precision, and disciplined capital mobilisation, Nwaochei said. He emphasized that Nigeria's ambition to raise crude oil output to 3 million barrels per day would require more than recovering shut-in production.
Nwaochei noted that indigenous operators now account for about 60% of Nigeria's oil production, increasing the responsibility on local firms to demonstrate technical competence, financial capacity, and effective management of environmental obligations. He also identified access to finance as one of the biggest challenges facing future oil and gas projects.
The SPE chairman pointed to the planned operationalisation of the African Energy Bank in Abuja by September 2026 as an initiative that could improve funding access for energy projects.