NUPRC eyes 40% share of Africa’s oil investments

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has announced a bold push to reclaim the country’s leading position in Africa’s oil and gas investment landscape, after its share of sub-Saharan Africa’s upstream inflows fell from 44% in 2014 to 30% in 2022.

Speaking at the 50th anniversary conference of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists in Lagos, Commission Chief Executive Gbenga Komolafe said the newly launched Regulatory Action Plan (RAP) is designed as both a corrective and a catalyst to attract fresh domestic and foreign capital into Nigeria’s upstream sector.

“In a fiercely competitive global environment, the RAP signals that Nigeria is ready to lead with clarity, confidence, and competitiveness,” Komolafe said.

Aligned with NUPRC’s 10-Year Strategic Plan, the RAP focuses on dismantling investment bottlenecks, introducing fiscally attractive frameworks for offshore, deepwater, and gas projects, and ensuring transparent, timely licensing rounds. It is anchored on the Petroleum Industry Act, which provides performance-based governance, investor-friendly fiscal regimes, and regulatory certainty.

Key measures include:

• Competitive royalty regimes and zero hydrocarbon tax for select projects

• Faster project approvals and reactivation of dormant oil fields

• Increased rig count from eight in 2021 to 43 currently, with a target of 50 by year-end

• Launch of the revitalised National Data Repository, Africa’s largest digital petroleum data bank, offering high-quality geoscientific data for investment decision-making

Recent licensing rounds — including the 57 PPL awards of 2022, the 2022 Mini-Bid Round, and the 2024 Licensing Round — were conducted with “unprecedented transparency and competitiveness,” according to Komolafe.

Under the Project One Million Barrels Initiative, launched in 2024, Nigeria aims to raise daily crude oil output from the current 1.7–1.83 million barrels to 2.5 million barrels by 2026. The plan includes approving 37 new evacuation routes, tightening security to combat crude theft, and enforcing the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation to secure feedstock for local refineries.

“Our focus is not just on restoring lost market share in Africa’s upstream sector, but on positioning Nigeria as a prime global investment destination,” Komolafe said.