The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, has outlined the agenda for repositioning Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector, with a focus on production optimisation, revenue expansion and regulatory efficiency.
Mrs Eyesan disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday following a stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos.
She said her vision for the upstream sector rests on three pillars: production optimisation and revenue expansion; regulatory predictability and speed; and safe, governed and sustainable operations.
According to her, the agenda aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope initiative and the administration’s production targets of two million barrels of oil per day by 2027 and three million barrels per day by 2030.
In December, President Tinubu replaced the chief executives of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the NUPRC as part of ongoing reforms in the oil and gas sector.
The shake-up at the two regulatory agencies followed allegations of corruption and economic sabotage levelled against the former NMDPRA chief, Farouk Ahmed, by the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote.
Mrs Eyesan succeeded Gbenga Komolafe, who was appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari and confirmed by the Senate.
Reforms
At the meeting, Mrs Eyesan said her plan to boost output and revenue would be driven by the recovery of shut-in volumes with economic value, arresting production decline, reducing losses and accelerating time-to-first oil, without increasing regulatory burdens or transaction costs.
She noted that the strategy was already yielding results, citing the recent reactivation of a long shut-in asset, which she described as “turning on the light.”
The meeting was attended by members of the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS), the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), emerging players and other key stakeholders in the oil and gas industry.
Mrs Eyesan said regulatory predictability and speed would be achieved by running regulation as a service, enforcing rules transparently and making timely, time-bound decisions.
She also pledged to strengthen governance, process safety, host community outcomes and decarbonisation efforts through safe, governed and sustainable operations.
“Going forward, the Commission will be measured on the following key success metrics -Faster, predictable regulatory approvals, higher, more secure and sustainable production, credible licensing and disciplined acreage performance, world-class HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) and process safety outcomes, trusted measurement, transparency, governance and data integrity,” she said.
Mrs Eyesan added that the commission would enhance regulatory efficiency and predictability by publishing Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for all major approvals.
She said timelines to production would be shortened through proactive engagement on required approvals, the implementation of stage-gate processes and mutually agreed timelines between operators and the commission.
“Stakeholders are encouraged to submit their projects for consideration. For matured opportunities, please submit your request at the latest end of Q1, 2026. This would provide a simplified and holistic framework that creates obligations for both operators and the Commission,” the statement said.
She also announced plans to launch a digital workflow for permitting, reporting and data submissions, adding that the NUPRC would work with industry players to identify capacity gaps and develop tiered interventions in critical areas to improve regulatory efficiency, while harmonising internal processes to reduce friction.
Mrs Eyesan disclosed that the commission’s internal transformation programme, driven through a project management office, was already underway.
“I will provide more details on this in the coming days,” she noted.
She further announced the creation of a “CCE–Operators Leadership Forum” for monthly engagements involving all operators, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), OPTS, IPPG and emerging players.
According to her, the forum will focus on approval timelines, production restoration, infrastructure integrity, and gas monetisation and development, enabling the commission to identify systemic bottlenecks and improve predictability.
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Mrs Eyesan also stressed the need to strengthen hydrocarbon accounting and measurement by tracking every barrel produced and addressing discrepancies or losses promptly.
On host communities, she urged operators to work closely with the commission as it plans its first engagement with host community leaders to reaffirm commitment to Host Community Development Trust (HCDT) implementation.
She said one of her key priorities is to achieve full compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act within 12 months, adding that progress would be monitored by a dedicated team in her office.
“The commission going forward will issue quarterly progress reports. Let therefore bring all high impact shut in fields for approval.
“On the Commission’s part, a 90-day program to fast track approvals for near-ready FDPs, well interventions, rig mobilisation and other quick-win opportunities have commenced,” the CCE stated.
