…As NUPRC complies with Executive Order 9
From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The Federal Government has set its sights on achieving a daily crude oil production of two million barrels, following a recent increase in output to 1.84 million barrels per day.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, commended the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) for the milestone, describing it as a strong indication that the country is on track to meet its production targets.
According to a statement from NUPRC, Edun gave the commendation when its Commission Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, visited the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja Thursday.
Edun urged the Commission to sustain the current momentum and intensify efforts towards reaching the two million barrels per day benchmark, stressing the importance of consistency in output.
The minister noted that the directive to ramp up production was issued by Bola Tinubu even before the recent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which have impacted global oil markets.
“It is heartening that you can tell us that you are doing 1.84 million barrels per day. That is fantastic news. That is totally in line with the mandate of President Bola Tinubu.
“What matters is not just reaching certain heights but sustaining it. We don’t want any stopping along the way. The trajectory should be maintained and of course the magic figure is 2mbpd,” he said.
Speaking earlier, Eyesan confirmed that Nigeria’s daily crude oil production had risen to 1.84 million barrels, describing the feat as encouraging while expressing confidence that higher levels would be achieved in the near term.
According to her, “We are doing 1.84 million barrels per day. That is a remarkable feat but I am sure we will do more.
The NUPRC boss attributed the earlier dip in production in February to operational challenges, including incidents affecting key facilities and scheduled turnaround maintenance, noting that these issues had since been resolved.
“But all that has been fixed and we are seeing production ramping up,” Eyesan stated.
With regards to the 2025 licensing round, Eyesan said the Commission is now in the technical and financial stage. She expressed optimism over the growth of the petroleum sector in the near future especially because of provisions like the “drill or drop” in the Petroleum Industry Act which empowers the Commission to revoke leases of dormant acreages.
Eyesan also revealed that some of the acreages on offer could begin production within a year, adding that indigenous oil companies were demonstrating strong operational capacity.
In addition, she confirmed that the Commission had fully complied with Executive Order 9 of 2026, which mandates the suspension of the 30 per cent Frontier Exploration Fund deduction from profit oil and gas, alongside other management fees, with direct remittance to the Federation Account.
The development, she noted, is expected to enhance revenue flows and support the Federal Government’s fiscal objectives.
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