Nigeria Targets 146,000 Daily Crude Production From Chevron-NNPC New Discovery

28 January 2026
Leadership (Abuja)
By Chika Izuora

A joint venture operated by Chevron has made an oil and gas discovery offshore Nigeria as international majors bolster exploration amid the top African producer's efforts to boost hydrocarbon output and offer more favourable terms for investments.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on Monday hailed Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), operator of the NNPC Ltd/CNL joint venture, on the successful completion of the Awodi-07 appraisal and exploration well located in the shallow offshore western Niger Delta.

LEADERSHIP reports that the joint venture aims to leverage this discovery to increase oil production to about 146,000 barrels per day (bpd), boosting Nigeria's overall production, supporting government revenue, and enhancing energy security.

The well was drilled in late 2025 as part of the joint venture's ongoing efforts to further delineate and unlock hydrocarbon potential within its asset portfolio.

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"Results from the well are highly encouraging, confirming a significant presence of hydrocarbons across multiple reservoir zones," NNPC said in a statement.

The successful exploration campaign is a major milestone for NNPC Ltd/CNL as it boosts the joint venture's confidence that the area has hydrocarbon potential, the Nigerian state oil firm added.

NNPC Limited and Chevron Nigeria Ltd work together under a joint venture agreement to operate several oil and gas fields in Nigeria's Niger Delta. In this partnership, Chevron owns 40 per cent and is the operator, while NNPC holds the remaining 60 per cent.

This is the venture's third discovery since 2024.

The recent exploration successes "complement Chevron's global exploration strategy to balance infrastructure-enabled and frontier activity," Kevin McLachlan, Chevron's Vice President of Exploration, said in a separate statement.

Nigeria's efforts to revitalise its oil industry through reforms and boost oil and gas production are starting to pay off.

Last week, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved the adoption of targeted, investment-linked incentives to support the proposed Bonga South West deepwater offshore oil project by Shell and its partners, the office of the president said after Tinubu met with the supermajor's chief executive, Wael Sawan.

Shell plans to invest $20 billion in the Bonga South West deepwater project, said the special energy adviser of the Nigerian president, Olu Arowolo Verheijen.

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