NUPRC warns Nigerian oil licence holders over inactive assets

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has issued a warning to Petroleum Prospecting Licence (PPL) holders regarding inactive assets. Under the commission’s ‘drill-or-drop’ policy, operators risk losing assets if they fail to meet exploration and development obligations within required timeframes.

NUPRC Chief Executive Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan stated that extensions for operators unable to secure technical partners or funding will not be granted automatically. The commission aims to leverage 22 awards from the 2022/2023 and 2024 licensing rounds to add at least 250,000 barrels of oil per day to national production within five years. Eyesan expressed confidence in Nigeria reaching a target of three million barrels of crude oil per day by 2030.

Commission officials emphasized that effective acreage management and strict monitoring of work programmes, drilling commitments, and exploration activities are essential to ensure the development of commercially viable resources. Operators are urged to comply with all submission and reporting requirements to facilitate performance assessments.