Nigeria’s national oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), has unveiled plans to raise crude oil production to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) within the next two years and reach 3 million bpd by 2030, according to Udy Ntia, the firm’s Executive Vice President for Upstream.
Speaking at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC), Ntia said Nigeria’s upstream sector is undergoing a major transformation driven by collaboration, co-investments, and smarter capital deployment.
“Nigeria’s upstream sector is evolving through a mix of collaboration, co-investments, and smarter capital deployment rather than competition,” Ntia said, as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Read also: Nigeria’s NNPC aims for 1.9m barrels daily by year-end, targets $60bn oil investment
“It is not just about producing more oil, but producing better oil — more efficient, cleaner, and more profitable. We have the capacity and are growing steadily while working together to reduce the strain of fossil fuels.”
Nigeria’s oil output has been on the rise in recent months, buoyed by President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, which has begun attracting new investments and revitalising exploration activity.
Current production stands between 1.7 million and 1.83 million barrels per day, including condensates, supported by an increase in operational rigs from 31 in January to 50 by July.
Read also: Nigeria’s NNPC, Dangote Refinery sign new two-year crude oil supply deal
Analysts have attributed the sector’s recovery to the administration’s “Project One Million Barrels” initiative and the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which provides a more predictable regulatory and fiscal framework to attract both local and international investors.
Earlier this month, Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, said fresh investment commitments by oil operators could add an extra 200,000 barrels per day to Nigeria’s production in the near term.
Ntia further revealed that NNPC is leveraging advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) to optimise drilling operations and improve recovery rates from mature fields.
Read also: Nigeria’s $2.4bn refineries idle as fuel traders rely on imports, Dangote’s output
“We are seeing technology as an enabler to get more from the ground, improve efficiency, and guide capital decisions,” he said. “The goal is smarter investment, not just more spending.”
