The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) yesterday said that almost 300 applicants made up of local and foreign companies were competing for just 50 oil blocks in the ongoing 2025 licensing round, describing it as a testament to a renewed investor confidence in the upstream sector.

Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, stated this while addressing participants at the ongoing Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) 2026 in Houston, Texas, USA.

This was just as the Chairman of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Mr. Wole Ogunsanya, said Nigeria is on the verge of achieving 1 million barrels per day of active refining capacity, adding that technology and partnerships were critical to ramping oil production to three million barrels per day in five years.

Speaking at the ‘NUPRC/PETAN Evolution Exchange’ session at the Nigerian pavilion at the global event, Eyesan said the response by investors underscores renewed confidence in Nigeria’s petroleum landscape.

She said the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and the bold initiatives of the current administration led by President Bola Tinubu have boosted investor confidence in the upstream sector, as shown by the growing interest of applicants in the licensing round.

“As the Commission Chief Executive of NUPRC, we are constantly in the market by virtue of PIA, to open our bridges to would-be investors. The interesting phenomenon, we only have 50 assets, we have almost 300 applicants for those 50 blocks. That tells you that the opportunities are there,” she said.

Eyesan, who assumed office in December 2025, linked the surge in interest to sweeping reforms and a more competitive regulatory environment under PIA.

According to her, the PIA provided clarity to the rules of engagement and made the industry more competitive in terms of the systems and even the regulatory environment.

“When we enacted the PIA, we thought we had achieved competitiveness. However, within a few years of implementing the PIA, when we did a global benchmark, a global study, we found that the PIA terms were not as competitive as they were two years prior. So the current administration, the current government has been very responsive to constantly evaluate where we are and ensure that they provide incentives to attract and retain investment in Nigeria”, Eyesan explained.

The NUPRC boss also pointed to the removal of fuel subsidies as a catalyst for energy transition and domestic gas growth. She noted that the policy has enabled the use of alternative sources of energy for mobility as seen by the growing increase in the utilisation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for mobility.

On Nigeria’s climate commitments, she expressed confidence in Nigeria meeting targets of ending gas flaring by 2030, and achieving net zero by 2060, citing the Nigeria gas flare commercialisation programme as part of the ways to zero out flaring.

Eyesan emphasised NUPRC’s dual role as enabler of business and enforcer of guidelines, noting that her role is to ensure that industry players operate by the rules.

“And since I assumed office in December, we have made that very clear. We have a listening ear. We’ve told the industry we will be an enabler for business. But at the same time, we will also ensure that the rules are adhered to”, she stated.

Looking ahead, she positioned Nigeria as Africa’s energy anchor, describing the country as a beacon of Africa.

For his part, the Chairman of PETAN, Ogunsanya, who also spoke at the OTC, said Nigeria is on the verge of achieving 1 million barrels per day of active refining capacity, adding that technology and partnerships were critical to ramping oil production to three million barrels per day in five years.

He said the push to increase oil output was critical for both the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quotas and domestic refineries now coming online. “This is telling us that the drive to ensure Nigeria increased production, not just for our quota in OPEC, but also for the refineries that we have in Nigeria.

“There will be, very soon, up to 1 million barrels of refining operating capacity. We’re not talking of installed capacity now. Very soon, Nigeria will have 1 million barrels of refineries that are operating”, Ogunsanya said.

He added that another 500,000 bpd of refining capacity remains idle, noting that the drive to increase oil and gas production was the most important thing for Nigeria. Ogunsanya acknowledged the challenge of boosting output after years of stagnation.

“In the industry, when you’ve not produced 2 million barrels of oil for the past 15 years, you cannot just wake up overnight to do that. You’re going to need a lot of equipment because some of the old equipment will be obsolete. You need new technology today that will make that production and exploration easier, safer, and cheaper”, he explained.

Apart from Eyesan and Ogunsanya, other top Nigerian oil and gas stakeholders present at the occasion were Managing Director of Chevron Nigeria Limited, Jim Swartz; Chief Financial Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mr Adedapo Segun and Chairman of Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), Adegbite Falade.

Others included the Chairman of Lee Engineering Group, Dr Leemon Ikpea; and Chairman of Energia Limited, Mr. Osten Olorunsola; Senior Technical Officer to Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Austin Uzoka, among others. (THISDAY)