NUPRC approved 79 FDPs with $40 billion potential investment within two years

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said on Sunday it endorsed 79 Field Development Plans (FDP) between 2024 and 2025, which can deliver investments with a combined value of $40 billion.

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Eniola Akinkuotu, the regulator’s head of media and strategic communications, disclosed in a statement highlighting the commission’s key milestones in the last four years that 41 FDPs potentially worth $20.6 billion were recorded in 2024, while 38 others valued at $19.4 billion have been reported so far this year.

An FDP, a critical document in oil & gas development, provides a broad plan and guide on how to extract hydrocarbons from petroleum fields and manage the impact of such activities on the environment.

“The success aligns with the charge of President Tinubu that Nigeria is ready for business and that the right investment climate prevails now in the Nigerian upstream as daily actioned by the NUPRC,” Mr Akinkuotu stated.

“As part of its mandate to develop the country’s hydrocarbon, the commission has recorded 306 development wells drilled and completed between 2022 to date,” he added.

The achievements mirror the progress Africa’s largest oil producer is making in revitalising output after production plunged to a multi-decade low of 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2022. The drop largely resulted from commonplace oil theft, vandalism and ageing infrastructures.

Coordinated efforts under the current administration restored production volume to as high as 1.7 million bpd (including condensates) this January. The latest official data put the production level for August at 1.6 million.

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NUPRC noted that the commission exceeded its revenue targets for 2022, 2023, and 2024 by 18.3, 14.7, and 84.2 per cent respectively, despite the fluctuations recorded in oil output and prices.

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Rig count, as of 2 October, stood at 69, compared to 8 in 2021, the upstream sector watchdog went further to say.

“In 2021, the average daily crude oil losses stood at 102,900 barrels per day or 37.6 million barrels per year,” Mr Akinkuotu disclosed in the statement, adding that the efforts of a multi-level task force have helped reduce that as of September by 90 per cent to 9,600 bpd.

The NUPRC has stated that it is implementing the ‘Drill or Drop’ policy in accordance with the Petroleum Act 2021, which requires that unexplored acreages are to be relinquished.

“This is designed to ensure the optimal use of oil assets and prevent dormant fields from tying up potential reserves. This policy successfully identified 400 dormant oil fields and has also propelled complacent oil companies to take quick action,” the commission’s spokesperson said.