The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has reaffirmed its ambitious target to increase the number of active oil rigs in the country’s petroleum sector from 36 to 50 by the end of 2025—a 38.89% boost aimed at driving investment and output growth.
This announcement coincides with fresh disclosures that Shell Plc paid $5.34 billion in taxes and other statutory charges to Nigeria in 2024—more than it paid to any other country globally, according to a Bloomberg report. The oil major’s contributions came as it prepares to exit onshore oil production in Nigeria, a sector it has operated in for decades but which has faced mounting environmental and operational challenges.
Similarly, Seplat Energy Plc, a leading Nigerian independent oil and gas company, projected its revenue for the first half of 2025 will surpass the $1.1 billion it recorded in 2024, buoyed by increased production.
Speaking at the 2025 Africa Energies Summit (AES) in London, Chief Executive of NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, traced the sector’s upward trajectory to reforms introduced under President Bola Tinubu’s administration. He noted that Nigeria’s rig count has grown from just eight in 2021 to 36 as of May 2025, a development that underscores renewed investor confidence in the industry.
“President Tinubu’s Executive Orders have removed key bottlenecks and unlocked the vast investment potential of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector,” Komolafe stated. “We now aim to increase the rig count to 50 by year-end, signalling a new era of momentum, ambition, and resilience.”
He emphasized the strategic importance of upstream activity, explaining that each active rig signifies capital commitment toward either discovering new reserves or developing existing fields. Nigeria, he said, is positioning itself to attract a significant share of the estimated $600 billion annual upstream investment needed across Africa, with total investments expected to reach $3 trillion by 2030.
Citing the International Energy Forum (IEF), Komolafe said Africa’s energy demand is projected to rise by 30% by 2040, driven by population growth and industrialization. To meet this demand, he noted, Nigeria is strengthening its appeal to global investors through transparency, competitiveness, and improved regulatory oversight.
He further highlighted Nigeria’s hydrocarbon wealth, which includes 37.28 billion barrels of crude oil and 210.54 trillion cubic feet of gas—the largest gas reserves on the continent. While Nigeria’s production target remains 3 million barrels per day, Komolafe said sustained investment is crucial to unlocking new basins and frontier fields to meet future energy needs.
“The Nigerian oil and gas industry is the heartbeat of the nation—accounting for 95% of foreign exchange earnings and nearly 70% of government revenue,” he stated. “To harness its full potential, we must remain committed to delivering economic benefits for over 200 million citizens and attractive returns for investors.”
To consolidate its production push, the NUPRC recently launched ‘Project 1 Million Barrels Per Day (1MMBOPD),’ aimed at raising Nigeria’s daily crude oil output by an additional 1 million barrels in the medium term. Since its launch, production has risen from 1.46 million barrels per day in October 2024 to 1.78 million barrels.
“This is a call to action for operators and investors to revive dormant fields and optimise existing assets,” Komolafe said.
On licensing rounds, Komolafe assured stakeholders that all recent bid processes were conducted with unprecedented transparency and investor engagement. He also pointed to improved access to high-quality subsurface data as a game-changer for Nigeria’s oil sector.
In collaboration with TGS-PetroData and other multi-client providers, the NUPRC has embarked on a major data acquisition initiative, including over 11,000 square kilometers of 3D seismic data under the 56,000 sq km Awalé Project. The National Data Repository (NDR) now houses one of Africa’s most extensive seismic archives, with data from over 10,000 wells available for both physical and remote access.
“This wealth of data has boosted investor confidence and firmly positioned Nigeria as a data-rich, investment-ready destination in the global energy space,” Komolafe noted.
Meanwhile, Shell’s $5.34 billion tax remittance to Nigeria in 2024 underscores the country’s central role in the company’s global operations, even as it shifts focus away from onshore oil. Shell disclosed the figure in line with UK legal requirements, reaffirming that while it plans to exit Nigeria’s onshore business—citing high emissions and environmental liabilities—it will maintain offshore operations.
