The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has announced that reforms focused on contract restructuring and operational optimisation generated savings of $3.4 billion between April 2025 and July 2026, while the company remitted N19.5 trillion to the Federation Account during the same period.

The figures were disclosed by the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, Bayo Ojulari, during the opening ceremony of the 25th Nigeria Oil & Gas (NOG) Energy Week in Abuja. The conference, themed “Advancing Energy Ambitions for Competitive and Resilient Economies,” highlighted ongoing reforms across Nigeria’s petroleum industry.

According to Ojulari, the company’s restructuring efforts have strengthened operational efficiency, lowered costs, deepened strategic partnerships, and improved value delivery to the federation. He also affirmed that NNPC has maintained full compliance with its joint venture cash call obligations.

NNPC records higher government revenue and production growth

A performance scorecard presented by the national oil company showed that the $3.4 billion in savings resulted from contract restructuring and optimisation initiatives across its operations.

The reforms also boosted government earnings, with NNPC reporting a government take of N19.5 trillion, representing a 21.8 per cent year-on-year increase.

The report further showed that NNPC achieved 100 per cent compliance with its joint venture cash call obligations across all joint ventures from Financial Year 2025 to June 2026. In contrast, its partners recorded a blended compliance rate of 61 per cent.

Among the 27 joint venture partners, only six fully met their obligations. Another 13 achieved partial compliance with an average payment rate of 72 per cent, while eight remained significantly in default, paying an average of only 14 per cent, prompting remedies under the Joint Operating Agreement.

NNPC said it would continue meeting its cash call obligations to support Nigeria’s target of producing two million barrels of crude oil per day.

Operational performance also improved during the review period. The company reported a six per cent increase in crude oil production year-on-year and an 8.1 per cent rise in gas production, reflecting stronger upstream operations.

Ojulari highlighted several strategic partnerships concluded since the previous Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference, including a long-term gas supply agreement with Nigeria LNG, progress on deepwater investments exceeding $20 billion, refinery partnerships, industrial gas projects, and additional gas supply arrangements.

Looking ahead, NNPC identified seven priority projects expected to drive production and gas infrastructure expansion through 2027. These include the UTM Floating LNG project, OB3 East-West Connector, AKK gas pipeline, refinery technical enhancement projects, the Zabazaba deepwater development, the Owowo field, and the BSWAP project.

The company said improved cost efficiency, stronger operational performance, enhanced infrastructure reliability, and strategic collaborations would strengthen Nigeria’s energy security, increase government revenues, and support sustainable oil and gas production growth.

Oil export recovery reaches 98%

Providing additional operational updates, Ojulari said NNPC achieved 98 per cent recovery across five crude export terminals between April 2025 and May 2026, compared with only one per cent at the Bonny terminal in June 2022.

He said Nigeria’s current oil production stood at 1.71 million barrels per day (mbpd), the highest level recorded in five years, while NNPCL Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL) reached a record production of 365,000 barrels per day.

Gas production, he added, climbed to 7.5 billion standard cubic feet per day (bscf/d) following the River Niger crossing on the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Pipeline and the inauguration of the ANOH Gas Plant.

Ojulari stressed that NNPC would continue enforcing financial discipline among its partners.

He said NNPC had “zero tolerance for partners who are not able to fund their Cash-call” and had begun invoking default clauses.

Emphasising collaboration within the industry, he added, “We have rid ourselves of any pseudo-regulation. We are not the super-regulator. Let them regulate. We want to work.”

FG commissions PwC to benchmark over 270 industry fees and taxes

At the same event, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, announced that the federal government had engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to conduct a global benchmarking exercise covering the more than 270 fees, taxes, and rents imposed on Nigeria’s oil and gas operators.

The initiative forms part of broader efforts to eliminate fiscal bottlenecks and improve Nigeria’s competitiveness in attracting investment.

The announcement followed concerns raised by the Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), Mr. Adegbite Falade, who noted that the industry currently faces over 270 different fees, rents, and taxes.

Confirming the issue, Lokpobiri said: “When the chairman of IPPG was talking, he made mention of the multiplicity of fees and rents.

“It’s been a major concern that Nigeria has over 270 fees, taxes, rents in this sector. It is true.”

He added: “But that doesn’t mean we are not doing something about it.”

According to the minister, the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) had earlier brought the matter to the government’s attention, leading to several stakeholder engagements aimed at addressing the challenge.

Lokpobiri explained that commissioning PwC forms part of the government’s response.

He stated: “And I’m happy to announce to you, as part of the steps we’ve taken, we’ve commissioned PWC to do a global benchmark. IPPG, together with NUPRC, came together under my directive to commission PWC to do a global benchmark.

“Sometimes, when you hear that you have 270 taxes, levies, the amount may be small. Some could be cents. But it will take you the same paperwork to pay one million dollars as you want to pay one cent.

“From the report I got from OPTS, they said it’s not even the volume of fees they want to pay, but the rigor of processing three cents, five cents, one dollar. They said, ‘Why don’t we group all together so that if I’m paying, I pay once, instead of having to make the company process 270 invoices.’

“So, what I’ve directed is that PwC should do the survey, do global benchmarking. What are the fees and rates in other jurisdictions? Nigeria has committed to be globally competitive.

“So let us benchmark it against other jurisdictions in the world. And that report will soon be ready, and I think that will resolve that problem once and for all.”

Lokpobiri said the Bola Tinubu administration had consistently responded to legitimate concerns raised by stakeholders.

He also revealed that Nigeria’s oil production, including condensates, had risen to over 1.8 million barrels per day, according to weekly reports from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), while reiterating the government’s objective of restoring production to 2.5 million barrels per day.

The minister linked increased production efforts to growing international demand, saying delegations from the United States, Europe, and the Middle East had recently sought to purchase Nigerian crude, but available supply was insufficient.

He attributed the recovery to policy stability and increased drilling activity, noting that active rig counts had risen from about 14 in 2023 to more than 60 currently.

According to Lokpobiri, years of underinvestment are gradually being reversed following recent reforms.

He declared: “Today, I can announce to you that the so-called popular investments in Guyana are not up to one per cent of Bonga North,” while citing Shell’s $5 billion deepwater project as evidence that investor confidence is returning.

Renaissance announces hydrocarbon discovery in OML 74

In another major development announced during the conference, Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited confirmed a significant hydrocarbon discovery at the JK-004 exploration well in the shallow-water Oil Mining Lease (OML) 74, less than one year after completing the acquisition of Shell’s onshore assets.

Chief Executive Officer Tony Attah said preliminary evaluation indicated that the well encountered “approximately 1,000 feet of hydrocarbon-bearing column across seven reservoirs,” adding that “initial log interpretation and fluid analysis confirm excellent reservoir quality and light oil.”

Attah also described the discovery as evidence that the Petroleum Industry Act’s “Drill or Drop” provision is delivering results.

He said: “One of the things that we did was to encourage companies to comply with the provisions of the PIA.

“PIA has a provision of Drill or Drop. That provision was specifically put there to ensure that we sustain the drilling campaign.”

IPPG urges harmonisation of industry charges

Speaking at the conference, Adegbite Falade, who also serves as Managing Director of Aradel Holdings, said geopolitical disruptions have repeatedly exposed Nigeria’s inability to fully capitalise on emerging market opportunities.

He recalled that the Russia-Ukraine crisis disrupted European gas and refined product supplies from 2022, prompting buyers worldwide to seek alternative suppliers. Despite possessing the 10th largest gas reserves globally, Nigeria was unable to scale exports rapidly because of capacity limitations and delayed Final Investment Decisions (FIDs).

Falade urged the government to shift “from collector to catalyst”, warning that Nigeria’s oil and gas industry remains among the most heavily taxed sectors, with over 270 separate fees, taxes, and levies.

He stated:

“These fees from multiple agencies and the cumulative burden threatens to outpace fiscal incentives introduced under the Petroleum Industry Act to attract and retain investment.”

He warned that the burden posed a direct threat to smaller producers and operators managing mature assets with thinner margins.

Falade also called for comprehensive harmonisation of industry charges and a review of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to codify presidential directives into law.

“We must ensure that our regulatory framework remains stable, transparent, and investment-friendly,” he said.

Nigeria targets global gas leadership

Also addressing participants, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said Nigeria is positioning itself as a leading global gas supplier through policy reforms, major infrastructure investments, and initiatives designed to maximise the country’s 215 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves, the largest in Africa.

Ekpo said the country is transitioning from being a gas-rich nation to an economy powered by natural gas.

He attributed recent progress to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and President Bola Tinubu’s executive orders, which he said have strengthened regulatory certainty, introduced fiscal incentives for gas projects, shortened contracting timelines, restored the commercial viability of deepwater developments, and encouraged renewed Final Investment Decisions (FIDs).

The minister concluded with a message to investors: “Our message to the global investment community is unified and resolute: Nigeria is open for business, and we have established a stable, competitive, and highly predictable investment environment.”