By JOAN NWAGWU

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says the country is on track to achieve a crude oil production target of 2.5 million barrels per day by 2026.

NUPRC Chief Executive, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, said this on Thursday in Abuja during the 4th PENGASSAN and Labour Summit (PEALS 2025).

The summit was themed ?Building a Resilient Oil and Gas Sector in Nigeria: Advancing HSE, ESG, Investment and Incremental Production.?

He noted that Nigeria?s current oil output had increased from 1.46 million barrels per day in Oct. 2024 to 1.8 million barrels per day, with momentum building toward the 2026 target.

He credited the recent Presidential Executive Orders under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 for shortening contracting cycles, reducing investment risks, and encouraging upstream projects.

Komolafe highlighted the commission?s efforts in deepwater exploration, reactivation of dormant fields, and adoption of enhanced recovery techniques.

He also referenced a recent Deepwater Technical Stakeholders? Workshop, which focused on unlocking more than 810,000 barrels per day in new production.

He outlined a cluster development strategy aimed at reducing costs, sharing infrastructure, and strengthening investor confidence.

On sustainability, Komolafe said the NUPRC?s Upstream Decarbonisation Framework targeted the elimination of routine gas flaring by 2030 and a 60 per cent reduction in methane emissions by 2031.

Nigeria?s 210 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, he added, would play a key role in the energy transition.

He called for stronger collaboration between government, industry, and labour, stressing that resilience in the sector must be a deliberate effort.

Also speaking, Mr. Jagie Baxi, Managing Director of ExxonMobil, identified four critical factors for boosting Nigeria?s oil production: geology, cost, risk, and reward.

He warned that in spite of Nigeria?s vast hydrocarbon resources, natural production decline, especially in deepwater operations, remained a challenge, with operators losing about 15% per cent output annually.

Baxi noted that high drilling and operational costs in Nigeria deterred fresh investment.

He stressed the need for risk-adjusted incentives to retain investor interest and urged improved collaboration among stakeholders to resolve disputes and revive underperforming fields. (NAN)

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