NNPC Pushes Sustained Drilling To Meet Crude Production Target

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, has said that Nigeria requires sustained drilling activities to help it meet its targeted production levels and achieve three million barrels a day (bpd).

The Company said security web across exploration infrastructure has improved production in recent time and level of oil theft has further been reduced.

According to the NNPC,crude oil production has risen to 1.8 million barrels per day in the last month.

The Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, gave the information on Thursday at the 2026 Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC) Conference in Lagos.

Ojulari, who was represented by the Chief Communications Officer of the Company, Andy Odeh, noted that Nigeria’s crude oil production rose to 1.821 million barrels per day (bpd), including condensates, reflecting improved regulations and upstream activities.

According to Ojulari, the approach has helped to improve the operating environment and accelerate activities across the upstream sector.

“Today, we are doing 1.821 million barrels per day,” he said. “The country has recorded more than 80 per cent success in its efforts to improve production.”

The event was themed: ‘Access To Assets: Empowering Players & Driving Growth’.

Ojulari’s confirmation of an improved oil production the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), production came few days after the Heineken Lokpobiri, on Tuesday in Abuja at the fifth anniversary commemoration of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), noted that the increase was driven by improved collaboration between the government and industry stakeholders, as well as efforts to remove bottlenecks that had slowed investment.

Lokpobiri had also highlighted the increase in drilling activities, saying the number of active rigs had risen from fewer than 10 when the administration assumed office to more than 70 currently.

According to him, Nigeria’s vast petroleum reserves would only translate into economic value if the government continued to create an enabling environment for investment and issued licences to investors with the requisite financial and technical capacity.

Nigeria produced 1, 677,777 barrels of crude oil and condensate per day in the month of August 2026, representing an increase of 0.4 per cent when compared to the month of July