By Bassey Udo
The regulatory reforms by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has enhanced the drive to grow industry production capacity, including a record 2.2 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas output, Renaissance Africa Energy Company Nigeria Ltd has said.
The company’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Chief Tony Attah, stated this on Tuesday in Abuja when he visited the Commission’s headquarters as part of activities to mark its one-year anniversary.
Specifically, the CEO of Renaissance expressed appreciation for the Commission’s regulatory support, noting that the enabling environment it created proved critical to the company’s operational growth and ambitious expansion plans.
“The NUPRC should feel proud of the CCE here. Looking at the transformation happening in the industry and the regulatory side, we do not have a better team to drive the industry in the whole of Africa than the NUPRC team,” Attah said.
“We speak to energy security in Africa, but more importantly, the industrialisation of Nigeria. I am very proud to confirm that yesterday (30/03/2026) we delivered 2.2 billion cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas from our operations, beating our 2030 target,” he added.
Consequently, Attah said the company has now raised its 2030 ambition to 3bcf, adding that the 2.2bcf milestone was achieved with the Commission’s support as a business enabler.
“Our target is to run 10–15 Field Development Plans (FDPs) per year. It will be near impossible to churn out any FDP without the Commission itself. So, we will be needing your help to pursue this ambition,” he added.
In her remarks, the Commission Chief Executive, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, noted that Nigeria had gone through a series of divestments, with the emergence of Renaissance Energy as a testament to the success of the latest divestment.
She said hydrocarbon production in past years saw peak production of over 2 million barrels of crude oil per day, which dropped to 900,000 bpd, adding that production growth was now rebounding.
“We are back on the upward trajectory, and Renaissance Energy will play a major role in the storyline,” she said.
“At the time of initiating the divestment, there was a lot of apprehension, given that past divestments saw some successful, some not so successful, and some just on the borderline scenarios.
“The apprehension was whether a Nigerian company could really step into the shoes of an IOC (international oil company) and do justice to the assets? I think today, Renaissance Energy has demonstrated that the apprehension was just a breeze,” she added.
The NUPRC boss assured the indigenous energy firm of Commission’s support as a business enabler, adding that in the last year, Renaissance Energy has been responsive to the Commission.
Also, she said the NUPRC called for industry support to enable operators to perform better.
Renaissance Energy emerged as part of the recent divestment of onshore assets by international oil companies, notably by acquiring Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria’s (SPDC) onshore and shallow water assets, marking a shift towards greater indigenous participation in the development of Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector.
