As Nigeria prepares to mark its 66th Independence anniversary on October 1, the country’s oil and gas sector is showing fresh signs of recovery after years of under-investment, divestment and declining rig activity, with indigenous operators increasing capacity to support Federal Government’s production targets.

One of the strongest indicators of the rebound is the steady rise in Nigeria’s active rig count, which industry data shows has been driven by renewed field development activities, regulatory reforms and the return of investor confidence in the upstream sector.

Regulators and operators attribute the turnaround to reforms implemented by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, (NUPRC), under its mandate to enforce transparency, ensure licence holders convert assets into production and deepen indigenous participation in the industry.

The commission, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to grow national crude production, has tightened oversight on idle assets, introduced investor-focused guidelines and promoted data-driven licensing and production optimisation.

The Federal Government has set a clear policy direction that every licence must translate into barrels, with operators mandated to optimise existing assets, revamp shut-in wells and bring new fields on stream as part of efforts to shore up revenue, stabilise energy supply and meet OPEC quotas.

Amid the renewed activity, indigenous oilfield services company, PMT7, has announced the deployment of two advanced 3,000 HP, 15,000 psi land drilling rigs into the Nigerian market, in a move the company described as its contribution to the country’s energy resurgence.

The investment, which expands local drilling capacity, is expected to enhance technical efficiency in onshore operations and create direct and indirect employment for Nigerian engineers, technicians and other skilled professionals in the oil and gas value chain.Director at PMT7, Firas Maalouly, said the decision to deploy the new rigs was informed by confidence in ongoing reforms by the NUPRC and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB.

“PMT7 is committed to Nigeria’s energy renaissance. The deployment of our new rigs reflects our confidence in the reforms being implemented by the NUPRC and the NCDMB, and our belief that Nigeria’s future lies in empowering local capability. This is our contribution to the nation’s renewed drive for energy security and economic growth,” Maalouly said.

He said indigenous service companies are no longer peripheral players but co-architects of the country’s energy growth.

“Indigenous companies today are not bystanders. We are co-architects of Nigeria’s progress. We see ourselves as partners in delivering the production aspirations set by this government, and we are determined to support that vision with real capacity and measurable results,” he said.

Industry stakeholders said the role of the NCDMB has been central to sustaining the rise of local operators.

Through its local content framework, the Board has enabled Nigerian companies to build capacity to execute high-value drilling, engineering and fabrication projects previously dominated by foreign contractors.

The Board’s emphasis on skills development, asset ownership and in-country value retention has produced a new generation of indigenous firms capable of competing for complex upstream projects.

The current recovery is also linked to the broader economic reform agenda of the Tinubu administration, which has prioritised fiscal incentives, removal of operational bottlenecks and renewed engagement with private sector investors to revive the oil and gas industry.With the country heading into its 66th independence anniversary, analysts say the rebound in rig count, growth in indigenous capacity and increased commitment by service companies like PMT7 signal a shift from license holding to actual production and from dependence on foreign service providers to local capacity utilisation.

For PMT7, the deployment of the two rigs goes beyond commercial expansion, representing a statement of confidence in Nigeria’s economic direction at a time when the government is pushing for energy security, job creation and industrial growth as part of its national development priorities.

As activities ramp up across onshore and offshore fields ahead of October 1, the convergence of regulatory reforms, indigenous investments and government production targets is expected to define the next phase of Nigeria’s energy journey, 66 years after independence