The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, has warned that Petroleum Prospecting Licence (PPL) holders risk losing inactive assets under its drill-or-drop policy.
Mrs. Eyesan warned at a workshop for PPL holders on Tuesday in Lagos that licence holders must fulfil their exploration and development obligations within the stipulated periods.
She stressed that extensions would not be automatic for operators unable to secure funding or technical partners.
According to her, the 22 awards from the 2022/2023 and 2024 licensing rounds are expected to contribute at least 250,000 barrels of oil production within five years.
The NUPRC chief executive said that the Commission would promote faster approvals and predictable regulation to attract investment into the upstream petroleum sector.
She expressed confidence that Nigeria could achieve its target of producing three million barrels of crude oil per day by 2030.
In his remarks, the Deputy Manager at NUPRC, Dr Shamsudeen Abubakar, said that effective acreage management was essential to reducing dormant assets and ensuring operators met their commitments.
Abubakar said that the Commission monitored work programmes, drilling commitments and exploration activities to ensure the development of commercially viable petroleum resources.
The two-day workshop with the theme, “From Award to Production: Delivering Nigeria’s Upstream Petroleum Potential under the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021”, was designed to acquaint licence holders with their regulatory obligations and post-award expectations.
GIK/APA