The new Nigerian incentives for offshore oil and gas projects have the potential to attract $50 billion in new investment in Nigeria’s offshore energy sector, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has said.
Nigeria, however, needs upskilled and additional numbers of skilled workers and employees, including in the digital industries, to take advantage of the new offshore opportunities, the regulator’s chief executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said at a human resources conference this week.
Nigeria, which aims to boost its oil production to 3 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2030, needs to attract much higher investments than in recent years.
According to the NUPRC’s Eyesan, annual investments in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry have slumped to just $2 billion, from $26 billion back in 2014.
Earlier this month, the regulator said that Nigeria met and exceeded its OPEC+ quota of 1.5 million bpd for the third consecutive month in July.
Last month, Nigeria pumped 1.505 million bpd of crude oil and 170,000 bpd of condensate, bringing the combined daily oil production to 1.67 million bpd, the latest data by NUPRC showed.
Nigeria has shown sustained growth in its crude and condensate output so far this year. Total oil output rose from 1.48 million bpd in February to 1.735 million bpd in June, according to the NUPRC.
Nigeria has struggled to pump its quota in recent years as sabotage often led to force majeure at major export streams.
However, with a recent crackdown on oil theft and sabotage in the Niger Delta, Nigeria has managed to increase crude production and aims for further growth by 2030.
Nigeria is actively increasing its crude oil production in response to major global supply disruptions caused by the war in Iran, with authorities now aiming to raise output by 100,000 barrels bpd in the immediate term to capture widening supply gaps.
Nigeria’s state-owned oil and gas company NNPC is set to increase oil production to 2 million bpd over the next two years, its executive vice president for upstream, Udy Ntia, said in November 2025.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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