To reverse the decline in investments in the years preceding the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory (NUPRC) on Wednesday highlighted critical steps taken to reposition the industry as a prime investment destination.
Apart from steps to remove the regulatory uncertainty that affected growth in the industry, the Commission Chief Executive, Gbenga Komolafe, said the Commission has continued to lead the industry in innovative ways to attract investments and ensure industrial development, energy security, affordability, and sustainability.
Komolafe said this in a keynote presentation he made at the 7th Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) on the theme “Navigating the new energy World Order: Security, Transition and Finance.”
In his presentation titled: “Innovation, Collaboration, and Resilience: Empowering Nigerian Producers in the Dynamic Energy Era”, Komolafe said in addition to the unveiling of its 10-year Strategic Plan (2023-2033) in May 2023, the Commission developed 25 priority regulations to support energy security and eliminate all regulatory bottlenecks against investments.
To entrench collaborations with industry stakeholders, the CCE said the Commission established a dedicated contact team to liaise with them periodically on matters of regulations and guidelines, while also facilitating collaboration amongst awardees, producers, service providers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), investors and financiers.
Besides, since its inception in 2021, he said the Commission has been working to ensure the PIA was effectively implemented to promote growth in oil and gas reserves as well as achieve the national aspiration of 2.5 million barrels average daily oil and condensate production target.
To reposition Nigeria’s oil and gas sector as a prime investment destination, the CCE said the Commission approved a total of 51 Field Development Plans between 2022 and 2023 to attract a total $17.64bn investment inflow as well as deliver cumulative oil recovery and gas recovery estimated at 2.12 billion barrels and 13.13 trillion cubic feet respectively in the next five years.
In addition, he said a total of $2.5 billion investment in 175 wells drilling, and a total of $2.68 billion investment in 842 well workovers and other well intervention activities between 2022 and 2023, resulting in increased average oil production.
Again, he said the Commission’s initiatives resulted in about 275 percent growth in rig count from just eight in 2021 to an average of 30 in the past year.
Some of the success stories from the Commission’s initiatives, Komolafe said, include early first oil achieved in recently streamed fields through accelerated field development programmes (FDPs) in Ikike field by Total, Efe field (Newcross), Utapate field, (NEPL), Akubo Field (SEEPCo), Oyo field (General Hydrocarbon) and several others streamed under extended well tests, including Ethiope, Omefejo, Ofa, Olure, Ibom, Apani, Kalaekule, etc.
The Commission, he said, has intensified its collaboration with international oil companies (IOCs) to accelerate the maturation and development of some high-volume deep offshore assets.
Despite the low emissions attributed to Nigeria compared to the global total, he said the Commission has spearheaded the national drive to achieve a zero-flare target by 2030 and net zero carbon emissions by 2060 through the National Gas Flares Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP).
To encourage collaboration, the CCE said the Commission established a College of Awardees, following the award of 49 NGFCP flare sites to successful entities to foster optimal delivery of the flare commercialization projects.
In the area of innovation, the Commission has moved from manual processes to embracing technology and digitalization across all departments.
This, he said, would allow the agency to leverage data analytics and artificial intelligence to unlock new efficiencies, make informed decisions, eliminate delays, and enhance productivity, transparency, and accountability as well as enhance the monitoring of compliance with regulatory requirements.
“The Commission’s innovation has fostered a culture of technology adaptation and adoption across the upstream oil and gas industry. Hence, the oil and gas companies in Nigeria are increasingly committed to pushing the boundaries of innovation as they continue to invest in cutting-edge technologies from data analytics and automation to remote monitoring and predictive maintenance,” Komolafe said.
On the implementation of the Host Communities Development Trust (HCDT) provisions of the PIA, Komolafe assured prospective investors of social inclusion for the host communities by the operators by the Commission’s effective exercise of its oversight roles.
So far, he said the Commission has registered a total of 103 Host Community Development Trusts (HCDTs), and deployed an intelligent digital platform for reporting, monitoring, and ensuring transparent administration of the HCDTs for sustainable operations in the Nigerian communities.
Other investment opportunities open for prospective investors are in the gas sector pursuant to the Federal Government’s Decade of Gas Programme, with growth in gas demand expected to outstrips supply between now and 2030 at annual growth rate of 16.6 percent per annum.
With major projects like NLNG Trains 7 and 8, Nigeria/Morocco pipeline, Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Natural Gas Pipeline Project, and others, the Commission said natural gas production is projected to increase from 8 billion cubic feet per day in 2020 to 12.2 billion CFD in 2030.
He said more investment opportunities were opened through the licensing round for seven deepwater acreages as well as the proposed 2024 closed bids expected to increase the nation’s reserve and production and boost national revenue.
