Nigeria has achieved a notable increase in crude oil production, adding 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) since the launch of the One Million Barrels initiative by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
The initiative, introduced in October 2024, was designed to boost the nation’s oil output by one million barrels annually, aligning with efforts to meet fiscal targets and global market demands.
According to the NUPRC, the country’s crude oil production has now reached approximately 1.7 million bpd, up from the previous average of about 1.45 million bpd. This growth is credited to renewed investments and enhanced operational performance made possible through the initiative.
Komolafe revealed this on Wednesday in Abuja during a workshop organised for journalists covering the oil and gas sector.
He explained that rig count, a critical measure of drilling activity, reflects the level of momentum and operations within the industry.
Data from the commission indicates that around 46 rigs are currently active in driving Nigeria’s oil production.
Komolafe attributed the consistent increase in rig count to the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in 2021, along with the commission’s strategic focus on boosting national oil output.
He noted that the NUPRC, through its Project One Million Barrels initiative, had raised Nigeria’s production from one million barrels per day to a level that now fluctuates around 1.7 million barrels.
The NUPRC chief added that the initiative, launched in October 2024, is designed to raise oil production by one million barrels annually, with about 300,000 barrels per day already added since its commencement.
He praised President Bola Tinubu for issuing Executive Orders 40, 41, and 42, which introduced tax incentives and remissions, while also redefining the industry’s contracting cycle and financial thresholds.
Komolafe stated that the 2024 Executive Orders—Order 40 on fiscal incentives, Order 41 on local content, and Order 42 on cost efficiency and contract timelines—have significantly spurred large-scale investment into the sector.
“These have yielded positive results in terms of the Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) that have attracted huge amounts of money, billions of dollars to the country,” he said.
He encouraged media professionals to cover the commission’s activities with professionalism, ensuring their reports help Nigerians better understand and value its operations.
“As a regulator, we are wrongly perceived; oftentimes, people fail to understand the difference between a regulator and an operator.
“As a regulator, our activities put us in a quasi-judicial position, in a position to mediate, it is an omnibus job,” he said.
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