By: Goodluck E.Adubazi, Abuja.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has pledged to sustain regulatory certainty for investors across the oil and gas project lifecycle, disclosing that field development approvals issued since 2024 have exceeded $57 billion.
The Commission made this known on Thursday at the AECAF Annual Conference in Abuja, where the Director, Surface Development, Development and Production Department, NUPRC, Engr. Joseph Ogunsola, represented the Commission’s Chief Executive, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan.
Ogunsola said the Commission’s mandate under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) requires it to facilitate investment while ensuring sound regulatory practices, stressing that investors require clear requirements and timely regulatory decisions from development planning through production and eventual closure.
“Our regulatory objective is to shorten the path to safe, economic production while preserving the scrutiny that protects investment, the environment and national value,” he said.
According to him, the field development approvals, valued at more than $57 billion as of August 2026, were supported by Nigeria’s substantial oil and gas reserves.
He said Nigeria had 37.01 billion barrels of proved and probable oil and condensate reserves and 215.19 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves as of January 1, 2026.
Ogunsola said the country’s oil and gas resources must continue to attract investments capable of strengthening energy security and national development, adding that sustained investment would depend on projects being competitive in cost, capable of delivering reliable production and responsive to increasing environmental expectations.
On the energy transition, he said the Commission was implementing measures aimed at managing associated risks, including the Upstream Petroleum Decarbonisation Template, the 2023 Gas Flaring, Venting and Methane Emissions Regulations, and the 2026
Decommissioning and Abandonment Regulations.
He explained that the decommissioning regulations require operators to plan and provide funding for the closure of oil and gas assets in advance.
The NUPRC director also said the Commission was supporting gas development projects designed to connect upstream supply with domestic and export markets.
He, however, noted that the success of such projects would depend on adequate transportation capacity, credible buyers and reliable payment mechanisms.
According to him, the Commission’s immediate focus is to ensure that the value of approved projects is translated into actual investment, execution and sustained production.
“For Nigeria, sustained investment must mean reliable energy supply, public revenue, benefits that endure in host communities and protects the environment,” Ogunsola said.
He added that these outcomes would remain key indicators for assessing the Commission’s progress in regulating the upstream petroleum sector
