Nigeria is on course to raise its crude oil production to 2.5 million barrels per day (mbpd) by 2026, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has disclosed. The agency said this will be driven by deepwater projects, revival of dormant fields, and faster approvals for new investments.
Speaking at the 2025 PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Summit in Abuja, NUPRC Chief Executive Gbenga Komolafe announced that output has already risen from 1.46mbpd in October 2024 to 1.8mbpd. He attributed the progress to reforms under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 and recent Executive Orders, which shortened project approval cycles from 36 months to six and improved fiscal incentives.
Komolafe explained that the commission is leading a “Project One Million Barrels Per Day” initiative, with strategies such as shared infrastructure and offshore tiebacks to boost capacity. “With this momentum, we are firmly on track to reach our 2.5 million barrels per day target by 2026,” he said.
On marginal fields, he confirmed that license renewals would be merit-based and assessed individually, with successful firms set for approval soon.