Key takeaways:
- Nigeria’s upstream regulator expects at least 22 offshore projects to reach production by 2030
- NUPRC has cleared more than $57 billion in field development plans since 2024
- Nigeria awarded 37 oil blocks to 31 companies in its 2025 licensing round
Nigeria’s upstream oil regulator expects at least 22 offshore projects to start production by 2030, with potential investment of up to $50 billion, as Africa’s top oil producer pushes to boost output and attract new capital.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said on Wednesday that reforms, licensing rounds, infrastructure upgrades and improved security have helped attract investment and improve the country’s operating environment.
NUPRC chief executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said the regulator has cleared more than $57 billion in field development plans since 2024, clearing the way for several projects to advance to final investment decisions.
NUPRC also said the planned investments are expected to raise oil and gas production, expand infrastructure and strengthen Nigeria’s attractiveness to upstream investors.
New acreage is opening up through licensing rounds
In her address, Eyesan said Nigeria has opened new oil and gas acreage through licensing rounds, awarding 37 blocks to 31 companies in the 2025 round.
Plans for a 2026 licensing round are being finalized, with the regulator previously indicating the round would launch by the third quarter of this year.
The expanded acreage is designed to draw fresh exploration and development capital into both established and frontier basins across the country.
A push toward doubling output by 2030
The offshore investment drive forms part of Nigeria’s broader target to nearly double oil production to 3 million barrels per day by 2030, up from current output levels that have hovered around 1.5 to 1.7 million barrels per day in recent months.
Reaching that target will hinge on offshore projects moving from planning to production on schedule.
Nigeria’s recent production gains, including the addition of the Cawthorne and Utapate crude grades, have largely come from smaller onshore and shallow-water developments.
The next phase of growth depends on much larger offshore fields.
