The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has opened a 90-day fast-track window for approving oil wells, Field Development Plans (FDPs), rig mobilisations, and other quick-win opportunities, to meet the two million barrels per day (mbpd) and three mbpd crude oil production targets for 2027 and 2030 respectively.
The NUPRC chief executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, announced this during a stakeholder meeting in Lagos on Wednesday.
Speaking at the meeting attended by Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS), Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG) which are both key industry associations in Nigeria's oil and gas sector; emerging players, and major industry operators, Eyesan stated that the initiative aligned with President Tinubu's renewed hope agenda, declaring the 3mmbopd target by 2030 achievable through production optimisation and swift regulatory decisions.
Eyesan unveiled her upstream transformation vision, resting on three pillars: production optimisation with revenue expansion via shut-in recovery and decline arrest; regulatory predictability through service-like efficiency and time-bound approvals; and safe, sustainable operations emphasising HSE, governance, and decarbonisation.
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"On the Commission's part, a 90-day programme to fast track approvals for near-ready FDPs, well interventions, rig mobilisation and other quick-win opportunities have commenced," the NUPRC boss stated, urging operators to submit matured projects by end of Q1 2026.
The NUPRC boss plans on increasing production and revenue expansion through the recovery of shut-in volumes with economic value, arresting decline, reducing losses, and accelerating time-to-first oil--without increasing burdens or transaction cost.
This, she said, had already begun by recently "turning on the light" in a long shut-in asset.
According to Mrs. Eyesan's plan, regulatory predictability and speed can be achieved by running regulation like a service, enforcing rules transparently and making quick time-bound decisions.
The new NUPRC boss plans to strengthen governance, process safety, host community outcomes, and encourage decarbonisation through safe, governed and sustainable operations.
"Going forward, the Commission will be measured on the following key success metrics -Faster, predictable regulatory approvals, higher, more secure and sustainable production, credible licensing and disciplined acreage performance, world-class HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) and process safety outcomes, trusted measurement, transparency, governance and data integrity," she said.
She promised that under her leadership, the NUPRC will enhance regulatory efficiency and predictability by publishing Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for all major approvals.
The timeline to production will be reduced through proactive discussions regarding all necessary approvals, implementation of stage-gate processes, and mutual agreement on timelines with the commission, she stated.
"Stakeholders are encouraged to submit their projects for consideration. For matured opportunities, please submit your request latest end of Q1, 2026. This would provide a simplified and holistic framework that creates obligations for both operators and the Commission," the CCE said.
The Commission will launch a digital workflow for permitting, reporting and data submissions, she stated, adding that the NUPRC will work with the industry to identify capacity gaps and develop tiered intervention in the most critical areas with immediate impact on regulatory efficiency "while we harmonise our own internal processes to eliminate conflicting regulatory actions and reduce friction."
She revealed that the NUPRC's internal transformation programme through a project Management office is in flight and "I will provide more details on this in the coming days."
The NUPRC boss also convened a "CCE-Operators Leadership Forum for monthly engagement".
The participants will include all operators (including NNPC), OPTS, IPPG, and emerging players.
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The meeting, she said, would be focused on approval timelines, production restoration, infrastructure integrity, and gas monetisation and development.
This is expected to enable the NUPRC to identify systemic bottlenecks and provide greater predictability.
Eyesan also stressed the need to improve hydrocarbon accounting and measurement by tracking every barrel produced and promptly addressing discrepancies or losses.
On host community, the NUPRC encouraged all operators to liaise with the commission "as we plan first engagement with host community leaders to reaffirm commitment to HCDT (Host Community Development Trust) implementation.
She also said one of her key goals is to ensure 100 compliance to the Petroleum Industry Act within 12 months. This, she said, will be monitored with a dedicated team situated in her office.
"The commission going forward will issue quarterly progress reports. Let therefore bring all high impact shut in fields for approval.
