By Bassey Udo
Petroleum engineers and major stakeholders in the upstream and downstream sectors of the petroleum industry on Thursday agreed the quest to raise industry daily oil and gas production capacity to over three million barrels per day and 22 billion standard cubic of gas were achievable only if operators would shift towards technology and artificial intelligence, smart and innovative deployment of capital and strategic collaboration and partnership in their operations.
Speaking at the opening of the 2026 Oloibiri Lecture and Energy Forum (OLEF) in Abuja, the Chairman of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigeria Council, Francis Nwaochei, along with the Group Chief Executive of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Bayo Ojulari; the Commission Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan; the Authority Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream/Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA, Saidu Mohammed; the Managing Director of Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, Engr. Tony Attah, and others offered various perspectives on the issue in Abuja.
They spoke variously in their presentations during the 2026 Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum on the theme: “Beyond The Three Million Barrels Target: Harmonizing Digitalization, Capital and Policy Framework for Intelligent Operations and Asset Optimization.”
In his introductory remarks, the SPE Nigeria Council Chairman, Francis Nwaochei, urged industry operators to go beyond the three million barrels per day production target by making good use of the advantages offered by technology and artificial intelligence to build resilience, and shared prosperity.
He said in an era where data acquisition was as strategic as hydrocarbons, smart deployment of capital could help grow output capacity in operations beyond set targets.
Highlighting opportunities to unlock value from existing brown field assets, Nwaochei said intelligent deployment of available digital tools, disciplined financing, and adaptive regulations could result in increased oil production beyond three million barrels.
“We are at a critical inflection point, where there is fiercer global competition for investment and the need for innovation in the deployment of resources to sustain Nigeria’s energy competitiveness.
“We are now operating in an environment where oil profits are achieved with increased effort, discipline, and innovation. The global energy landscape is shifting, capital is more selective, and competition for investment has never been fiercer. Yet, within these challenges lies a powerful opportunity—to unlock new value from existing assets through digital innovation, disciplined financing, and adaptive regulatory frameworks,” he said.
He challenged industry operators to identify practical, doable steps, to strengthen connections across the value chain, and take ownership of the recommended solutions, while framing clear opportunities to align with the Society’s collective vision.
On her part, the NUPRC CCE, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said although the industry’s present situation was established by history, the future would depend on the choices made today, adding that the concern was not simply about the hydrocarbons that lies beneath the ground, but about the industry’s capacity to adapt, innovate, and execute plans with discipline.
She called on the industry, government and all stakeholders to partner in shouldering the responsibility to achieve these three goals, pointing out that with over 37 billion barrels of crude oil and more than 200 trillion cubic feet of natural gas endowment, spanning deepwater, shallow water, onshore, and frontier basins, Nigeria could easily translate into the expected higher production targets.
Although in recent times investment slowed, projects stalled, costs escalated, and confidence eroded, Eyesan said the lesson was that resource endowment alone does not create value.
“Value is realized through effective execution, driven by alignment of policy, capital, and technology,” she said.
Under the post–Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) era, she said policy and regulatory framework were reshaping Nigeria’s upstream landscape, while purposeful regulation was enabling digital oilfields, unlocking investment, improving recovery, and strengthening national energy security.
Considering that oil and gas remained central to the country’s national development priorities, the CCE said scaling up production targets from 2 million barrels of oil per day and 10 billion standard cubic feet of gas by 2027, to 3 million barrels and 22 billion cubic feet of gas by 2030 was ambitious.
These milestones, she said, were steps toward building an efficient, resilient, and globally competitive sector, adding that achieving them required more than drilling.
“It demands policy and regulatory frameworks that attract capital, spur innovation, enable digital oilfields, and ensure value is created intelligently and sustainably.”
To create the enabling atmosphere for effective business, the CCE said the Commission gazetted 19 regulations, with five more advancing, covering critical upstream areas.
Highlighting the benefits of industry reforms, the CCE said these have not only provided fiscal clarity, it accelerated approvals and made the environment predictable for the development of major assets like Bonga North, Ubeta, and HI.
“Collectively, these projects represent over ten billion dollars in new upstream investment, demonstrating that clear policy, firm regulation, and deliberate leadership are essential to unlocking real value and cementing Nigeria’s position as a competitive upstream destination”, she said.
“In this evolving landscape, we must intentionally design our regulations to establish standards, ensure interoperability, and build confidence in data integrity. This is essential for fostering innovation and sustaining competitiveness,” the CCE added.
On capital, she said today the resource was selective, as it flows to environments where risk is clearly defined, costs are competitive, and policies are stable.
She said through the PIA and targeted Executive Orders, Nigeria has created conditions that give the investor confidence and strength to address structural challenges, shorten approval timelines, focus local content on capability and value, and enhance fiscal incentives for deepwater and gas developments.
The objective of the government, she maintained, was to build an investment climate defined by clarity, consistency, and confidence.
She said the collective expectations of the industry were for all stakeholders to participate in regulatory consultations and policy development; embrace digital tools for real-time data platforms and analytics to drive operational excellence and compliance; prioritize best practices in environmental stewardship, resource optimization, and community engagement; collaborate across industry and government to pilot new technologies, share data, and accelerate progress, and .
champion transparency in reporting, data integrity, and accountability at every stage of the value chain.
For the Authority Chief Executive of NMDPRA, Engr. Saidu Mohammed, the importance of adopting intelligent operations by stakeholders supported by intelligent regulations cannot be overemphasized, saying the realization of Nigeria’s aspiration to achieve 3 Million Barrels per day of crude oil production required exploring the three critical areas of digitization, funding and policy frameworks.
Describing the aspiration as essential and timely, in view of the country’s developmental priorities and the circumstances arising from global conflicts, he said Nigeria has established itself as an emerging energy
supply centre, well-equipped to address domestic demands and export resources to other African economies and international markets.
He said growing the country’s oil production target goes together with the 22 Billion cubic feet per day ‘Decade of Gas production target.
Achieving these targets, he noted, would require funding, efficient technological systems, and the right regulatory framework necessary to attract and retain investments.
In the downstream sector of the petroleum industry, he said its flagship ‘Project NEXUS’, which
would be unveiled in the coming weeks, was central to its regulatory activities.
The project, he explained, would serve as the industry
transformation vehicle to coordinate the journey towards becoming the best-in-class regulator, while ensuring secure and sustainable energy, accelerated gas development, and consolidating Nigeria as
the energy hub for Africa.
Underpinning Project NEXUS, he said, was the Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Industry Sustainability Initiative (MDPISI), which has been developed to ‘future proof’ the industry by reducing the carbon footprint of the sector, accelerating blue hydrogen development and promoting CCUS technologies.
“The current global energy crisis has redefined the possibilities of the petroleum industry in favour of our side of the globe as a dependable source of these resources. Nigeria must seize the moment and fasttrack the attainment of our production and utilization targets,” the ACE said.
Pursuant to the provisions outlined in the PIA, he said the NMDPRA has implemented the principle of agile regulatory development to maintain the global competitiveness of Nigeria’s midstream and downstream sector, with. 17 previous regulations consolidated into a unified Petroleum Operations Regulation.
As the regulatory environment was being enhanced, he underlined the need to revolutionalise the upstream, midstream and the downstream sectors’ operations by focusing on ‘Big Bank’ projects in the upstream sector to produce hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil and billions of cubic feet of gas per day, while revamping the critical liquid transportation trunklines in the downstream and remodeling their operations to align with requirements envisaged under the PIA.
This initiatives, he emphasized, must be deliberate to meet set targets within the decade as envisaged, by ensuring the exploration and production activities were more technologically efficient, to attain more reservoir recovery factors and lower the cost of production.
To attain the 3 Million Barrels of oil output and 22 BCF of gas targets, the ACE said there was need for commensurate investments to bridge the midstream infrastructure gaps in oil refining, pipeline networks, gas processing and establishment of Gas Based Industries.
With the current global energy supply dynamics and the business enabling environment provided by regulatory agencies, he said significant funding would be attracted to the Nigerian Petroleum Industry, adding that alternative funding frameworks were being
implemented through the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF), the Africa Energy Bank, and other development partners, including green financing through the industry sustainability initiatives.
Other personalities, including the Group CEO of the NNPC Ltd, Bayo Ojulari, and the MD of Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, Engr. Tony Attah, who was the guest lecturer at the event, also stressed the need for effective collaboration and partnership among stakeholders while deploying technology in the operation and allocation of capital towards achieving the industry national targets.
