SEEPCO SSV KALI 3: Protecting and Safeguarding Nigeria’s Waters from Vandals …Sustained cooperation between the Nigerian Navy and Nigerian maritime industry. …SSV KALI 3 is designed to support the protection of critical maritime and energy infrastructure. Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company Limited (SEEPCO) is committed to supporting the mission of protecting and…
OGTAN President Harps on Human Capital Development as a Major Focus for Progression …Relationships are an essential component of human capital development. At the OGTAN event held in Warri, Delta State, the President, Chris Osarunmewense emphasised that the association treasure the potential of people who have developed human capital in nature to effectively operate…
Esso Nigeria Marks Arrival of Noble Gerry de Souza as Usan Infill Project Enters Execution Phase Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Offshore East) Limited, operator of the Usan field located in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 138 today announced the arrival of the Noble Gerry de Souza in Nigerian waters. This marks a major milestone…
Nigeria Eyes New Oil Investment Cycle after $24bn-To-$2bn Slump, but Skills Gap Looms — Eyesan, CCE NUPRC …says Nigeria lost geoscientists, petroleum engineers others to years of underinvestment Nigeria’s oil and gas industry must urgently rebuild its technical and commercial talent pipeline as renewed investment returns to the sector after years of underinvestment that…
Oil, Gas Companies Remain Key CCUS Adopters Despite Project Challenges — GlobalData Oil and gas companies remain among the leading adopters of carbon capture, utilisation and storage despite persistent challenges affecting project delivery, according to GlobalData. The intelligence and productivity company said more than 70 per cent of operational and upcoming carbon capture facilities globally, by facility count, were associated with energy assets as of June 2026. GlobalData said oil and gas companies continued to prioritise CCUS projects that support their core operations, including liquefied natural gas, refining, hydrogen production and upstream activities. It identified Eni’s Ravenna cluster, ExxonMobil’s Gulf Coast carbon dioxide transport and storage network, and Northern Lights in Norway as some of the key projects being advanced by major oil and gas companies. Northern Lights is jointly owned by Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies and focuses on offshore transportation and storage of carbon dioxide. Ravindra Puranik, Oil and Gas Analyst at GlobalData, said the operational carbon capture base remained relatively modest, despite growing interest in the technology. “As of June 2026, the operational carbon capture base remained modest, with more than 140 projects globally across multiple industries and a cumulative capacity of 62 million tonnes per annum (mtpa),” Puranik said. He added that the energy sector accounted for the bulk of the existing capacity, while most future capture capacity remained at the feasibility and Front-End Engineering Design stages. According to GlobalData’s Strategic Intelligence report, “Carbon Capture and Storage”, the CCUS industry has moved beyond pilot scale interest, but many projects are yet to overcome commercial, regulatory and infrastructure barriers required for construction…
Eni Plans 230 Wells as El-Sisi Pushes Expansion of Egypt Gas Hub Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has called for deeper cooperation with Italian energy giant Eni and increased investments in the country’s oil and gas sector as Egypt seeks to strengthen its position as a regional gas hub. El-Sisi made the call on Tuesday during a meeting with Eni Chief Executive Officer, Claudio Descalzi, in…
19 Nigerian Oil Licences Face Expiry In 2026 No fewer than 19 oil and gas licences in Nigeria’s upstream sector have stated expiry dates falling within 2026, according to the latest Nigerian Upstream Concession Situation Report released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission. The report, which provides an overview of petroleum exploration and production concessions across the country, covers both Petroleum Prospecting Licences and Oil Prospecting Licences. Of the affected concessions, 12 are Petroleum Prospecting Licences (PPLs), while seven are Oil Prospecting Licences (OPLs). The report also shows that three licences had stated expiry dates in 2025, while additional concessions are scheduled to expire in 2027. Among the PPLs due to expire in 2026 is PPL 220, held by Navante Exploration and Production Limited, with an expiry date of October 16, 2026. PPL 232, held by Kizi Oil and Gas Services Limited, is scheduled to expire on November 16, while PPL 235, held by Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Limited, has a November 1 expiry date. PPL 223 is listed with an expiry date of November 30, 2026, while another concession in the same category is scheduled to expire on December 28. PPL 251 also has a November 16, 2026 expiry date, while PPL 266, held by AOS Orchard Petroleum Development Limited, is due to expire on November 21. The report further lists PPL 277, PPL 275 and PPL 254 with February 14, 2026 expiry dates, meaning their stated tenure had elapsed by the time the August report was published. However, the document does not indicate that the affected concessions had been revoked or cancelled. In the OPL category, the concessions include OPL 228, held by Sahara Upstream Production Nigeria Limited, which has a July 9, 2026 expiry date, and OPL 289, operated by Cleanwaters Consortium, with a September 9 expiry date. Also listed are OPL 809 and OPL 810, both with June 14 expiry dates; OPL 276, which expired on August 14; and OPL 2010, whose stated tenure runs until December 23, 2026. OPL 215, held by Noreast Petroleum Nigeria Limited, is also listed with a May 3, 2026 expiry date. The affected concessions span different geographical areas and acreage types, including onshore, shallow-water and continental shelf assets in the Niger Delta. For instance, PPL 220 covers 44.816 square kilometres in the onshore Niger Delta and is associated with the Abigborodo field, derived from OML 49. PPL 232 covers 32.366 square kilometres on the continental shelf and is associated with the Amaniba field, derived from OML 67, while PPL 235 covers 28.121 square kilometres and is associated with the Udara field, derived from OML 70. The expiry schedule comes amid renewed activity by the upstream regulator to allocate fresh acreage to investors. In July 2026, the NUPRC issued 19 Petroleum Prospecting Licences to 12 successful awardees under the 2024 Licensing Round and the 2022/2023 Mini Bid Round. The commission said the new licences cover deep offshore, shallow-water and continental shelf acreage, with several of the licences granted on July 8, 2026, carrying expiry dates of July 7, 2031. Among the new awards are PPL 2007, PPL 3011, PPL 2006, PPL 2003-DO, PPL 2005, PPL 3017, PPL 2002, PPL 2008, PPL 2009, PPL 304-DO and PPL 306-DO. The regulator also awarded PPL 2008 to Tulcan Energy E&P Company Limited and PPL 2009 to Broron Energy Limited. The development highlights the continued turnover of Nigeria’s upstream acreage as the NUPRC implements the Petroleum Industry Act and manages the expiration, conversion and reallocation of existing concessions. However, the report does not suggest that all 19 concessions will automatically leave their current holders on the stated expiry dates. Some entries are marked for “possible optional tenure extension” or conversion, while others are identified as having “conversion in progress,” indicating that the status of some concessions could change beyond their stated expiry dates.
Petrol Demand Slumps 25% Despite Lower Pump Prices Nigeria’s petrol consumption fell by 25 per cent in July 2026 despite a decline in pump prices across the country, the latest data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has shown. According to the NMDPRA’s latest fact sheet, average daily petrol volumes trucked out into the domestic market dropped from 47.4 million litres in June to 35.7 million litres in July. The decline represented the sharpest month-on-month drop in the year-long consumption trend monitored by the regulator and the lowest level recorded since at least July 2025. Petroleum marketers attributed the fall in demand to the rising cost of refined petroleum products, weaker consumer purchasing power and seasonal factors, particularly heavy rainfall, which they said discouraged road travel. July’s consumption was also well below the 2026 daily demand benchmark of 50 million litres, with demand remaining below the benchmark in five of the first seven months of the year. The decline came despite lower petrol prices across all eight cities monitored by the NMDPRA. Average pump prices fell by about five per cent between June and July. Enugu recorded the largest reduction, with the average price dropping from N1,355.50 to N1,256 per litre, representing a 7.3 per cent decline. Maiduguri recorded the smallest reduction, with prices falling from N1,393 to N1,345 per litre, or 3.4 per cent. Lagos remained the cheapest of the cities monitored, with its average petrol price falling from N1,284.50 in June to N1,204 per litre in July. The price decline occurred despite a rise in international gasoline prices, which increased from $988.24 per metric tonne in June to $1,094.67 in July. The naira also weakened slightly against the dollar during the period, with the NFEM FIX rate moving from N1,366.82 to N1,373.25 per dollar. Dated Brent crude, however, fell marginally from $85.47 to $83.41 per barrel. The NMDPRA data further showed that petrol supply tightened during the month, as daily receipts from domestic refineries fell by 21 per cent, from 32.5 million litres in June to 25.8 million litres in July. Imports increased by nine per cent in July, partly cushioning the decline in domestic refinery supplies. Meanwhile, all three NNPCL-owned refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna remained non-operational throughout the month. Despite the decline in supply and consumption, national petrol stock sufficiency improved from 19.7 days in June to 22.4 days in July. The figure, however, remained below the NMDPRA’s minimum stock sufficiency threshold of 30 days.
FG Moves to Revive Kolmani Oil Exploration After Year-Long Halt The Federal Government has moved to revive exploration activities at the Kolmani Oil Field in Bauchi State, with the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission pledging to support efforts to restart the stalled project. The Chairman of RMAFC, Muhammad Bello, made the commitment on Monday during a verification visit to the oil field to assess the project’s current status and determine what is required to facilitate its continuation. According to PUNCH, Bello said the commission’s visit was aimed at gathering firsthand information that would enable it to advocate for the resumption of the project, which he described as strategically important to Bauchi State, the North-East and Nigeria as a whole. He said, “We want the momentum of the project that was started in 2023 to return. We want to come and verify for ourselves what is going on so that we can advocate for this project, this important project, to continue, so that the people of the North-East of Nigeria can further benefit. Bello added that President Bola Tinubu was concerned about the project and had assured the governors of Bauchi and Gombe states that mobilisation would be provided to enable work to resume. The RMAFC chairman said the commission would complete its assessment and submit its findings to the relevant authorities while continuing to monitor developments around the oil and gas project. “We will go back after assessing what type of project this is and what is going on. We will continue to follow it because we operate by committees, and we will be looking at oil and gas,” he said. During the visit, Bello also inspected the ongoing construction of the Bauchi Oil and Gas Academy, commending the state government for developing an institution that could provide skilled manpower for the oil and gas industry when exploration activities become fully operational. He noted that RMAFC had contributed part of the funds used to construct the academy. Earlier, the Bauchi State Commissioner for Natural Resources, Maiwada Bello, disclosed that exploration activities at the Kolmani site had stopped around July 2025. He said the state government became aware of the development after receiving reports from the host community that the technical company handling the project had begun demobilising from the site. According to the commissioner, the state government subsequently formed a joint team with the relevant local government authorities and engaged the technical company to establish the reasons behind the halt in activities. “When we came here, actually there was no activity. Shortly after you left, between January 2025 and somewhere around June 2025, July 2025, we received news from the host community that the company operating in this area was demobilising,” he said. Maiwada said the RMAFC visit had renewed hopes that activities would resume at the oil field, adding that the Bauchi State Government remained committed to providing the manpower and other necessary support for the project. “Bauchi State under the leadership of Governor Bala Mohammed is ever ready to provide every manpower needed to support the exploration,” he added.
NNPC, Partners Sign Bonga Southwest Addenda, Target $21bn Investment The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and contractors to OML 118 have executed addenda to the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) and Dispute Settlement Agreement (DSA) for the Bonga Southwest/Aparo (BSWAp) deepwater project. The milestone, announced by NNPC Ltd on Monday, is expected to advance the project towards Final Investment Decision (FID) and unlock between $15bn and $21bn in investment over the life of the development. The OML 118 contractor parties involved in the agreement are Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (NAE). NNPC said the agreements give effect to fiscal and commercial terms approved by the Federal Government for the development of BSWAp, reinforcing efforts to create a competitive and stable environment for large-scale deepwater investments. The development follows President Bola Tinubu’s approval of the Deep Offshore Oil and Gas Projects Incentives (Tax Remission) Order, 2026, which the company said was designed to improve the competitiveness of Nigeria’s deepwater sector and attract new investments. BSWAp is projected to become one of Nigeria’s largest deep-water…