The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has reaffirmed its commitment to ramp up the number of active oil rigs in Nigeria from the current 36 to 50 by the end of 2025—representing a 38.89 percent increase—as part of a broader push to rejuvenate upstream activity in the nation’s petroleum sector.
Speaking at the recently concluded 2025 Africa Energies Summit (AES) in London, the Chief Executive of the NUPRC, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, credited the significant uptick in industry activity to the reforms championed by President Bola Tinubu’s administration. According to Komolafe, Nigeria had only eight active oil rigs in 2021. However, the implementation of strategic policy measures and the dismantling of regulatory bottlenecks have since reignited investor interest and driven capital inflow into the sector.
“This growth is a testament to the improving investment climate in Nigeria’s oil and gas space,” Komolafe told global energy stakeholders. “With clearer regulations and targeted reforms, we are poised to restore Nigeria’s prominence as a leading oil producer.”
The renewed investor confidence appears to be paying off. In a related development, global energy giant Shell Plc reportedly paid $5.34 billion in taxes and other charges to Nigeria in 2024—more than in any other country where it operates—according to data published by Bloomberg. This underscores Nigeria’s strategic importance in Shell’s global operations and reflects improved fiscal transparency and governance.
Further boosting the sector’s outlook, Seplat Energy Plc, one of Nigeria’s largest indigenous exploration and production companies, revealed that its first-half 2025 revenue is expected to exceed the $1.1 billion recorded in the previous year. The company attributed the strong performance to increased production volumes and operational efficiency.
Analysts suggest that the convergence of regulatory reforms, rising rig counts, and surging investor confidence could place Nigeria on a firmer path to meeting and even surpassing its crude oil production benchmarks in the coming years.
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