‘Drill or lose your assets’: NUPRC warns idle oil licence holders

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has warned that Petroleum Prospecting Licence (PPL) holders risk losing inactive assets under its drill-or-drop policy.

The NUPRC Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, gave the warning at a workshop for PPL holders in Lagos on Tuesday, October 20, 2026.

Eyesan said licence holders must fulfil their exploration and development obligations within the stipulated periods.

Eyesan stressed that extensions would not be automatic for operators unable to secure funding or technical partners.

She said the 22 awards from the 2022/2023 and 2024 licensing rounds were expected to contribute at least 250,000 barrels of oil production within five years.

The NUPRC boss said the Commission would promote faster approvals and predictable regulation to attract investment into the upstream petroleum sector.

Eyesan expressed confidence that Nigeria could achieve its target of producing three million barrels of crude oil per day by 2030.

Middle East war: Oil prices hit five-month high at $110 per barrel

Earlier, the NUPRC Deputy Manager, Dr Shamsudeen Abubakar, said effective acreage management was essential to reducing dormant assets and ensuring operators met their commitments.

Abubakar said the commission monitored work programmes, drilling commitments, and exploration activities to ensure the development of commercially viable petroleum resources.

Also speaking, the Head of Work Programme and Performance Evaluation at NUPRC, Dr Cyril Efre, said approved annual work programmes formed the basis for monitoring operators’ activities and compliance with licence conditions.

Efre urged licence holders to comply with submission and reporting requirements, noting that approved programmes enabled the commission to assess planned activities and operators’ performance.