The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has reported a strong resurgence in activities across the country’s oil and gas upstream sector, highlighted by a remarkable rise in rig count from eight in 2021 to 69 as of October 2, 2025.
In a statement marking its fourth anniversary, the Commission’s Head of Media and Strategic Communication, Eniola Akinkuotu, said the significant rise in active rigs reflects renewed investor confidence and demonstrates the growing stability of Nigeria’s petroleum industry.
“The number is expected to increase even further in the coming months. This shows a renewed investor confidence in Nigeria. The success aligns with the charge of President Tinubu that Nigeria is ready for business and that the right investment climate prevails now in the Nigerian upstream as daily actioned by the NUPRC,” it stated.
Driving Investment and Accountability
Also among the activities of the commission, since its inception, is the implementation of the ‘Drill or Drop’ policy, which prescribes that unexplored acreages are to be relinquished.
The policy, which is in line with the PIA, 2021, is designed to ensure the optimal use of oil assets and prevent dormant fields from tying up potential reserves. With this policy, the Commission said it has identified 400 dormant oil fields and has also propelled complacent oil companies to take quick action.
As part of its achievements in the past four years, the Commission said, “To give meaning to the intent of the PIA, 2021, the Commission, in consultation with stakeholders, has developed 24 forward-thinking Regulations. So far, 19 have been gazetted while five await gazetting. These forward-thinking Regulations serve as tools for transparency and the creation of an enabling investment climate and benchmark best practices.
“The Commission approved divestments running into billions of dollars in 2024. From the Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) to Oando Energy Resources; Equinor to Chappal Energies; Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited to Seplat Energies; and Shell Development Company Nigeria Limited to Renaissance Africa Energy. The divestment is about investor portfolio re-ordering to focus on deep offshore development.
Gas Flare Reduction and Community Impact
The Commission also noted progress under the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP), which seeks to end routine gas flaring while attracting up to $2.5 billion in fresh investments.
According to the commission, awards for flare sites have been completed, marking a major step towards environmental sustainability and energy diversification.
It also announced that the Host Community Development Trusts have remitted N122.34 billion, while dollar contributions stand at over $168.91 million as of October 2025. This translates to a combined remittance of over N358.67 billion based on the prevalent exchange rate.
“Still on the host community, the NUPRC is overseeing at least 536 projects at various stages of completion, including schools, health centres, roads and vocational centres. These are being funded by the trust fund. The achievement has tremendously curbed crude oil theft.
“In 2021, the average daily crude oil losses stood at 102,900 barrels per day or 37.6 million barrels per year. However, due to the combined efforts of the General Security Forces and Private Security Contractors (TANTITA) as well as the collaborative effort of the Commission, this has reduced by 90 per cent to specifically 9,600bpd in September 2025.
“Furthermore, two pioneer regulations introduced by the Commission have also contributed to the success, namely: The Upstream Measurement Regulation and the Advanced Cargo Declaration Regulation, respectively, have contributed as pioneer efforts at achieving transparency in hydrocarbon accounting.”
Highlighting transparent bid round as part of its achievements, the Commission explained that prior to its establishment, the licensing rounds were opaque and beclouded by political influence which made the process lack credibility.
It noted that with the support of President Bola Tinubu, the process has been transformed to be fully digital thereby enhancing transparency and credibility.
“It was the most transparent bid round on record in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum history as it leveraged digital technology, devoid of any human interference, in a manner adjudged to be in line with global best practices which was even attested to by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI),” it added.
What you should know
In September, NUPRC revoked the operating licence of the Oritsemeyin Rig following a drilling incident at the UDIBE-2 wellbore that raised serious safety concerns.
ccording to the commission, the revocation followed a review of the circumstances surrounding the UDIBE-2 drilling operation, where a “kick” — the unwanted flow of formation fluids into the wellbore — was recorded. This incident led to several non-productive hours, extra costs, and a forced sidetrack of the well.
Also, in July, NUPRC said about 102 Host Community Development Trusts (HCDTs) have received N97 billion and 149 million dollars as HCDT fund remitted by settlors.
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