By Orkula Shaagee
President Bola Tinubu has unveiled a major push to unlock up to $50 billion in new deep offshore oil and gas investments as Nigeria’s crude production climbed to 1.821 million barrels per day and active drilling rigs surged from fewer than 10 to more than 70.
Tinubu said the combination of fiscal incentives, regulatory certainty, and improved security in oil-producing areas was repositioning Nigeria as a competitive destination for global energy capital after years in which major offshore prospects remained undeveloped.
The President, represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, spoke Tuesday in Abuja at the fifth anniversary of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), established under the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.
He said the Deep Offshore Oil and Gas Projects Incentive Tax Order 2026 had removed longstanding uncertainty by establishing clear and published criteria for investors.
“The order replaces that uncertainty with clear, published criteria and requires projects to be executed in Nigeria wherever applicable,” Tinubu said.
“It is designed to unlock up to 50 billion dollars in new investment, beginning with the Bonga South-West project.
“The message to the world is simple: Nigeria is open for long-term investment and the terms are clear.”
Tinubu said the intervention was particularly important because some of Nigeria’s biggest petroleum prospects are located in deep offshore fields that have remained undeveloped for years.
According to him, the Petroleum Industry Act had established the foundation for renewed investment by providing clearer rules, a more predictable regulatory environment, and mechanisms to give host communities a greater stake in petroleum development.
The President said progress had also been recorded in restoring security in oil-producing areas and opening upstream opportunities to investors through competitive processes.
He said investors who previously looked elsewhere were returning, adding that Nigeria had emerged as Africa’s leading destination for upstream investment for two consecutive years.
Tinubu also pointed to the Host Communities Development Trust framework, saying more than 170 trusts had been funded to support education, healthcare, and other development projects in oil-producing communities.
He stressed that lasting peace in the Niger Delta and other producing areas depended on fairness, inclusion, and ensuring that communities shared in the benefits generated from resources extracted from their land.
The President said his administration intended to deploy petroleum revenues and resources to support a broader economy driven by agriculture, manufacturing, digital technology, and the creative industries.
Oil and gas, he added, would remain critical to providing gas for electricity and industry while expanding opportunities for Nigerian engineers, fabricators, and indigenous service companies.
Tinubu, however, warned that policy reforms would deliver little without effective implementation and charged NUPRC to guarantee predictable, transparent, and reliable regulatory processes.
He directed the commission to work closely with other government agencies to prevent investors from facing conflicting regulatory requirements and unnecessary delays.
Operators, he said, must in turn comply with approved work programmes, local-content obligations, environmental standards, and commitments to their host communities.
Tinubu pledged that the Federal Government would uphold the rule of law, sanctity of contracts, and accountability as essential conditions for sustaining investor confidence.
He also said Nigeria would pursue an energy transition strategy tailored to its development requirements, including increased gas supply for power generation, industrial production, and clean cooking, alongside expansion of renewable energy.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, disclosed at the event that Nigeria’s crude oil production had risen to 1.821 million barrels per day, which he attributed to improved regulation, increased upstream activity, and stronger collaboration between government, regulators, and operators.
“Today, we are doing 1.821 million barrels per day,” Lokpobiri said, adding that the country had recorded “more than 80 per cent success” in efforts to increase production.
He disclosed another significant indicator of increased upstream activity: the number of active drilling rigs had climbed from fewer than 10 when the Tinubu administration assumed office to more than 70.
Lokpobiri said sustained drilling was critical to expanding reserves and production as Nigeria pursues a target of approximately three million barrels per day.
He said the country’s vast petroleum reserves could only translate into economic value if the government maintained an attractive investment environment and ensured licences were awarded to investors with the financial and technical capacity to develop the assets.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Dr Ekperikpe Ekpo, said the next stage of the petroleum reforms must translate regulatory stability into measurable investment, faster project execution, and greater economic benefits.
Ekpo, represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mrs Patience Oyekunle, said Nigeria’s enormous natural gas resources could support industrialisation, electricity generation, domestic energy security, and regional economic development.
“Regulatory stability is not an end in itself. It must translate into increased investments, accelerated projects, higher production, greater value creation, and improved economic benefit for Nigerians,” he said.
NNPC Ltd. Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, said improved engagement between NUPRC and operators, clearer regulatory processes, and collaborative problem-solving were enabling businesses to concentrate on production and investment.
Ojulari said NNPC Ltd. was making progress in increasing oil and gas production, reducing costs, strengthening partnerships, and attracting investment, while the industry’s priorities included growing reserves, accelerating gas development, and commercialising undeveloped resources.
NUPRC Governing Board Chairman, Senator Magnus Abe, said the commission had made progress in strengthening regulatory processes and creating a more transparent and investment-friendly upstream environment.
He said the next priorities must include increasing production, attracting investment, unlocking marginal and stranded resources, reducing regulatory bottlenecks, and ensuring responsible management of Nigeria’s petroleum resources.
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