On Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at the Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week in Abuja, themed “Accelerating Energy Progress Through Investment, Partnerships, and Innovation,” Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, announced the Federal Government’s resolve to end the practice of oil companies holding dormant field licenses. Lokpobiri warned that licenses held by operators lacking the technical or financial capacity to develop Nigeria’s 159 oil fields (NUPRC data) would be withdrawn, as part of efforts to meet the 2025 budget target of 2.06 million barrels per day (bpd) and OPEC’s 1.5 million bpd quota. He emphasized maximizing upstream assets amid global financing constraints, stating, “It is no longer acceptable for critical national resources to remain in the hands of companies that lack the capacity to optimize them.” The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has already notified holders of over 40 Petroleum Prospecting Licenses (PPLs) of tenure expirations, setting conditions for extensions.
Lokpobiri revealed that an international consultant has been engaged to harmonize 273 oil and gas sector fees to align with global best practices, addressing investor concerns about excessive costs (web:1). Nigeria’s crude oil production reached 1.745 million bpd in June 2025, including 1.452 million bpd crude and 204,493 bpd condensate, a 7.38% increase from 1.552 million bpd in December 2024, but still below the 2025 budget benchmark (web:11,15,19,23). The government aims to hit 2 million bpd by year-end, with NNPCL’s Group CEO, Bashir Bayo Ojulari, reporting 100% crude oil pipeline availability in June 2025 due to enhanced security measures (web:0,1,18). Ojulari also highlighted progress on the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, which crossed the River Niger, targeting completion by Q4 2025.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, underscored Nigeria’s 200 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves, emphasizing the Decade of Gas initiative to drive industrialization, power generation, LPG usage, gas-to-transport adoption, and exports (web:1,23). Despite a rise from 1.34 million bpd in 2023 to 1.56 million bpd in 2024 (web:18), challenges like oil theft, vandalism, and underinvestment persist, with analysts projecting a modest 1.45 million bpd in 2025.
Leave a Reply