By Abiodun Folarin
WorldStage– Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun has urged the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to intensify efforts to raise crude oil production to 2 million barrels per day (mbpd) from the current 1.84mbpd.
Edun disclosed this on Thursday when he received the Commission Chief Executive of the NUPRC, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja.
The NUPRC, in a statement on Friday by its spokesperson, Eniola Akinkuotu, said Edun commended the Commission for piloting the petroleum sector to achieve a production level of 1.84 million barrels per day in recent days.
Edun said, “It is heartening that you can tell us that you are doing 1.84 million barrels per day. That is fantastic news. That is totally in line with the mandate of President Bola Tinubu.
“Clearly, you have started on a very good note. Please keep it up,” Edun told the NUPRC boss.
The finance minister described the war in the Middle East as unfortunate but noted that President Bola Tinubu had mandated increased production even before the crisis began.
The minister therefore called on the NUPRC to push the industry harder to reach 2mbpd.
“I wish you continued success. What matters is not just reaching certain heights but sustaining them. We don’t want any stoppage along the way. The trajectory should be maintained and, of course, the magic figure is 2mbpd,” Edun stated.
Speaking earlier, the Commission Chief Executive of the NUPRC said recent daily crude oil production had reached 1.84 million barrels per day.
“We are doing 1.84 million barrels per day. That is a remarkable feat, but I am sure we will do more,” she assured the minister.
The NUPRC Chief Executive attributed the earlier dip in production in February to some unfortunate incidents affecting key facilities, as well as turnaround maintenance.
“But all that has been fixed, and we are seeing production ramping up,” Eyesan said.
With regard to the 2025 licensing round, Eyesan said the Commission is now at the technical and financial stage.
She expressed optimism about the growth of the petroleum sector in the near future, especially due to provisions such as the “drill or drop” clause in the Petroleum Industry Act, which empowers the Commission to revoke leases of dormant acreages.
The NUPRC boss revealed that some of the acreages on offer could see production as early as one year, adding that indigenous companies were demonstrating impressive capacity.
Eyesan also noted that the Commission had fully complied with Executive Order 9 of 2026, which directs the immediate suspension of the 30 per cent Frontier Exploration Fund (FEF) deduction from profit oil and gas, alongside other management fees, and the direct remittance of same to the Federation Account.
