NUPRC Approves 779 Well Operations, 39 Development Plans in 10 Months
The Commission Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this on Tuesday during the management session of the 44th Annual International Conference and Exhibition of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) in Lagos.
Eyesan, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Basinal Administration, Ahmad Abdullahi, said the approvals reflected improvements in the commission’s regulatory processes, particularly the time taken to grant permits for upstream operations.
She explained that reducing approval timelines would minimise costs incurred by operators while waiting for regulatory clearance and encourage faster execution of oil and gas projects.
According to her, the commission’s responsibility includes ensuring that Field Development Plans and drilling applications are approved promptly to support Nigeria’s production targets and energy security.
The NUPRC boss also disclosed that Nigeria’s total rig count had risen to 100, with 46 actively involved in drilling operations.
She said the figure represented an increase of more than 300 per cent compared with the country’s rig activity in 2021.
Eyesan attributed the improvement to regulatory certainty, noting that investors were more willing to commit capital to the upstream sector when they had confidence in government policies and the operating environment.
She further said the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) had strengthened investor confidence, particularly in seismic data acquisition, which is essential for identifying new oil and gas reserves.
The commission chief executive disclosed that multi-client seismic companies had invested more than $100m in acquiring seismic data in Nigeria in the three years since the enactment of the PIA.
She said the investments would improve geological understanding of the country’s sedimentary basins, support exploration decisions and increase the prospects of discovering additional hydrocarbon resources.
On efforts to address insecurity in the oil and gas sector, Eyesan said the commission had introduced initiatives, including the Advanced Cargo Declaration programme and coordinated surveillance involving the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, private security companies such as Tantita Security Services and the Nigerian Navy.
She stressed that the commission’s responsibility extended beyond punishing errant operators and those involved in vandalism, adding that its broader objective was to establish an environment where legitimate oil production would be more profitable than crude oil theft.
The conference theme is “Unlocking More Barrels: Driving Reserves Growth through Exploration, Local Capabilities, & Adaptive Technology”,
