. Commission targets 250,000bpd from new awards within five years
. Defaulting firms face N10m penalty, N1m daily for late work plans

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has given holders of 22 petroleum licences 18 months to achieve first oil, warning that inactive blocks will be reclaimed as the regulator moves to enforce work commitments and accelerate the development of the upstream petroleum assets.

The commission also expects the awardees to contribute 250,000 barrels per day to national production within five years, while imposing a N10 million penalty on operators who fail to submit their yearly work programmes by the prescribed deadline, followed by N1 million for every subsequent day of default.

The measures formed part of the commission’s effort to ensure that licences translate into exploration, development and production, rather than remain undeveloped in the hands of operators, who lack the technical capacity, financing or operational plans to progress their assets.

Speaking at the onboarding workshop for holders of petroleum prospecting licences (PPLs), yesterday in Lagos, the commission’s chief executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said the immediate priority was to ensure that the awardees commenced work and fulfilled the minimum work programmes they had committed to undertake during the licensing process.

Eyesan said the workshop was designed to guide the new licence holders through the requirements of the upstream business and put them on track to begin exploration and development activities.

She said the commission expected some of the awardees to progress towards first oil within three years, while expressing the desire to see production commence within 18 months.

“So we are sure that now that we are starting on the right track, they will push the work program and ensure that we achieve in the next five years,” she said.

The 22 awards, which cover the 2022, 2023 and 2024 licensing rounds, are expected to support the commission’s broader ambition of raising Nigeria’s oil production to three million barrels per day by 2030.

Eyesan said the Commission’s focus was not merely on the volume of licences awarded but on ensuring that the companies holding them fulfilled their commitments and developed commercially viable resources.

She said the Commission had drawn lessons from previous licensing rounds and marginal field awards, where some operators struggled to develop their assets after winning licences.

According to her, some companies assembled technical teams to participate in bidding but disbanded them after securing the assets, leaving the licence holders without the capacity to proceed with exploration and development.

The commission maintained that meeting the financial obligations associated with a licence did not automatically translate into the ability to operate an oilfield successfully. Operators must also demonstrate the technical and commercial competence required to execute their work programmes.

Eyesan warned that the commission would reclaim licences from operators who failed to undertake the required activities within the stipulated periods, stressing that extensions would not be granted automatically to companies unable to secure technical partners or financing.

“An extension is not automatic. It is not automatic,” she affirmed.

She said the commission had issued a directive for the recovery of blocks that remained inactive beyond the applicable periods, identified as three years for onshore assets and five years for offshore assets.

Eyesan also said the commission expected more than half of the 22 awardees to achieve first oil within two years and to drill their second wells within three to four years.

The commission pledged to support the operators through clearer regulatory guidelines, more predictable processes and faster approvals. Eyesan said the commission is also prepared to address bottlenecks that could impede investment and delay the execution of work programmes.

The commission’s enforcement drive extends beyond inactive licences to the annual work programmes that operators must submit for approval before carrying out planned activities in the following year.

Senior Programme and Project Management Executive at the Commission, Dr Cyril Efre, said that a yearly work programme represented the commitments an operator had made to the Commission and provided the basis for monitoring whether those commitments were being fulfilled.

“Your license is a promise you’ve made to the Commission, and the annual work programme is how we ensure that you keep that promise,” he said.

The submission window for annual work programmes covering activities planned for 2027 opened on October 15 and closes on November 16, 2026.

Efre said the deadlines were based on the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Commercial Regulations and had been agreed upon by the commission and industry stakeholders during consultations.

He warned that operators who failed to submit their work programmes by November 16 would face a N10 million penalty from November 17, followed by a daily charge of N1 million until they complied.

“From November 17, there is a penalty, a N10 million penalty. On the seventeenth, and every day subsequently, one million Naira until you submit,” he said.

Efre explained that the commission required sufficient time to review submissions and issue approvals before the start of the new operating year on January 1.

He said operators could apply to modify approved work programmes if new opportunities emerged during the year, including proposals to drill additional wells or undertake other activities. Such changes, however, must be submitted through the designated portal and approved by the Commission.

Emergency activities are subject to a separate provision requiring operators to notify the Commission within 48 hours.

The Commission also warned that operators who failed to submit required half-year and full-year performance reports would face the same penalties applicable to late work programme submissions.