The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has announced that 10 of the oil block awardees from the 2024 bid round have commenced production activities.
This development marks a significant milestone in Nigeria’s efforts to boost oil production and revenue.
This is as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) reported that the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline project is now 72 per cent completed. This critical infrastructure is crucial for Nigeria’s gas-focused economy and is expected to play a key role in enhancing energy supply once completed.
The NUPRC, chief executive officer, Gbenga Komolafe who made this known, said the Commission is driving several other initiatives but the one that is major and that is key to the Commission now is NUPRC’s Project 1 Million Barrels Incremental Initiative.
Speaking at the 2025 Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum (OLEF) organised by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigeria, Komolafe expressed optimism that the initiative was realisable with the stakeholders’ cooperation.
The NUPRC boss who represented by executive commissioner of development and production, Enorense Amadasu, said the Project 1 Million Barrels of Oil Initiative is an industry collaborative undertaking involving producers, service providers, financiers, and other key stakeholders for incremental 1 million barrels per day production by 2026.
On 2024 bid round and potential 2025 bid round, he said in pursuit of the goal to reach four million barrels of oil and 220 trillion cubic feet of gas, NUPRC has vigorously pursued strategies to enhance exploratory activities and accelerate development.
He added: “As part of these efforts, the Commission completed the 2024 bid licensing round with the award of 70 offshore petroleum prosperity licenses, and 70 additional onshore and offshore blocks.
“We are also preparing for the 2025 bid round as we implement the drill or drop philosophy in line again with the PIA and follow FIT’s administration mechanism of the PIA.”
On Petroleum Processing License (PPL) awardee, he revealed that 10 of the awardees are now in production.
“I think about more than 10 of them are now in production. I think that’s a huge one for the country,” he said.
Also speaking, the group chief executive officer of NNPC Limited, Bashir Bayo Ojulari, disclosed that the $2.8 billion Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project has reached 72 per cent completion as of the end of the first quarter of 2025.
Ojulari emphasised that with substantial investments in energy infrastructure, NNPC is actively shaping Nigeria’s energy future.
This year’s conference has the theme “Driving Energy Sustainability Through Technology, Policy, and Supply Chain Excellence.”
Represented by the executive vice president, Upstream, Udobong Ntia, the GCEO noted that the conference theme speaks directly to the present and emerging realities of the Nigerian petroleum industry. He urged industry stakeholders to collectively rethink the current paradigms shaping the energy sector.
He observed that “in Africa, over 600 million people remain without access to electricity, a statistic that reflects both a development deficit and a glaring opportunity for energy inclusion. Here in Nigeria, oil and gas continue to represent over 85 per cent of export earnings and contribute significantly to government revenue. But beyond revenue, our hydrocarbon wealth must now become a bridge to a broader, more sustainable energy future”.
He added that “technology is no longer an enabler. It has now become a fulcrum. At NNPC Limited, we have embraced digital transformation not as a buzzword but as an operational imperative”.
He disclosed that “Nigeria’s passage of the Petroleum Industry Act, (PIA) 2021 remained a historic milestone, one that has repositioned NNPC Limited as a fully commercial entity empowered to compete and deliver value like never before. In alignment with Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan, which seeks to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060, NMPC Limited has initiated several gas-led transition programs, including the expansion of our Autogas program, targeting over one million vehicles, through 2026. The completion of critical backbone infrastructure such as the AKK pipeline, which is over 72 per cent complete as we speak, first quarter 2025”.
On her part, the chairman, SPE Nigeria, Amina Danmadami, who spoke earlier, noted that while the global conversation may lean heavily toward renewables, we know that oil and gas will remain central to Nigeria’s economic stability, energy security, and industrial growth for decades to come.
She stated that “since 1991, OLEF has stood as a symbol of dialogue, innovation, and policy engagement in Nigeria’s oil and gas landscape. It commemorates the first commercial discovery of oil in Nigeria in Oloibiri, Bayelsa State—an event that forever changed the trajectory of our nation’s economic history. OLEF continues to serve as a convergence point for stakeholders across government, industry, and academia to reflect, project, and act”.
Speaking virtually, Danmadami recalled that since 1991, OLEF has stood as a symbol of dialogue, innovation, and policy engagement in Nigeria’s oil and gas landscape.
She said it commemorates the first commercial discovery of oil in Nigeria in Oloibiri, Bayelsa State—an event that forever changed the trajectory of the nation’s economic history.
OLEF, she said, continues to serve as a convergence point for stakeholders across government, industry, and academia to reflect, project, and act.
The chairman said while this year’s global conversation may lean heavily toward renewables, “we know that oil and gas will remain central to Nigeria’s economic stability, energy security, and industrial growth for decades to come.
“The path to sustainability in our context is not one of displacement, but one of optimisation—leveraging technology to drive efficiency, tightening our supply chains, and creating enabling policies to enhance sector resilience.”
Also speaking at the event, the executive secretary, Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF, Ahmed Aminu commended SPE Nigeria for sustaining the OLEF.
Represented by Ifeoma Nwokike, general manager, Projects Department, Aminu said: “Since 2015, PTDF has remained a consistent supporter of the OLEF, recognising its strategic value as a platform for policy dialogue, stakeholder engagement, and forward-thinking discourse on energy development in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
“The annual lecture series, commemorating the historic 1956 oil discovery at Oloibiri, represents more than a celebration of our petroleum legacy—it reflects our collective aspirations for sustainable energy growth through innovation, strategic partnerships, and capacity building.”
Speaking, the former Minister of Petroleum, Don Etiebet warned against issuing licenses for petroleum production to people or companies without capacity to drill the rigs.
He advised that succession into the indigenous firms’ leadership should not be a family affair.
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