Active rigs in the oil sector have increased from 11 in 2011 to 30.
Also, the country recorded capital expenditure (Capex) worth billions of dollars within the last two and a half years on the back of the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Chief Executive, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, said efforts had also led to the restoration of investor confidence and the creation of certainty and predictability in the sector.
According to him, the NUPRC has been working in ensuring the effective implementation of the statutory mandate of the commission.
Notably, he said these efforts berthed the introduction of the crude oil measurement regulation, which was the first in Nigeria’s over 70 decades of oil and gas production, would also save the country huge amount.
“If you listen to feedback from the industry, you’ll recall that as at 2011, we had just about 11 rigs. As of today, we’ve about 30 rigs in the Nigerian upstream. That’s a huge success for us. And you know that rigs measure vibrancy of activities in the industry,” Komolafe said.
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He further said since the establishment of the NUPRC under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in 2021, the Commission has introduced about 17 regulations, which have been gazetted.
These regulations, he said, are aimed at providing efficiency, predictability, clarity and effectiveness to the oil and gas industry.
He stressed that the commission has boosted investor confidence by bringing certainty and predictability into the industry. “We’ve attracted capex running into billions of dollars into the Nigerian upstream. We’re happy that we’ve success story to tell in just about less than two and a half years,” he said.
Komolafe was credited with pioneering successful implementation of electronic tracking of petroleum products distribution nationwide, a feat which has been hailed as one that has resulted in transparent bridging of petroleum products and price equalisation management that saved the government hundreds of billions of naira through institutional expertise.