The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engineer Gbenga Komolafe, has expressed optimism about Nigeria’s rising oil production.
He made this known during an official visit to Dubai Drydocks World (DDWD) in the United Arab Emirates, as part of the regulatory inspection of the EMEM Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel’s readiness for sail away.
The EMEM FPSO, currently being converted at DDWD for Oriental Energy Resources Limited (OERL), will soon be deployed to the Okwok Field (PML 15), operated by Oriental Okwok Limited, offshore Nigeria.
Engineer Komolafe conducted a four-hour comprehensive inspection of the vessel, examining critical components such as the Oil and Produced Water Treatment Unit, Gas Injection Modules, Seawater Treatment Facilities, Gas Turbine Generators, Electrical House, LACT Unit, Laboratory, Control Room, and Accommodation Quarters.
The inspection allowed the Commission to evaluate the project’s level of compliance, quality, and overall readiness for deployment.
Speaking after the tour, Komolafe described the FPSO’s upcoming departure for Nigeria as a positive development that aligns with the “Project One Million Barrels” initiative — a national effort aimed at boosting oil output by one million barrels per day.
“This FPSO is arriving in Nigeria at a crucial time when we are intensifying efforts to increase production. It will play a key role in achieving our One Million Barrels target. I am very impressed with what I have seen, and as the regulator, we will continue to support Oriental Energy,” he stated.
Komolafe also encouraged Oriental Energy to participate in the forthcoming licensing round, noting that the company had demonstrated sufficient technical and operational capacity to take on additional projects within Nigeria’s dynamic oil and gas sector.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited announced that the country’s oil output has risen to 1.7 million barrels per day, with medium-term and long-term targets of 2 million by 2027 and 3 million thereafter.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, Engineer Bashir Ojulari, disclosed this on Tuesday during the “Energy Talk” session at the ongoing Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC 2025) in the United Arab Emirates.
According to OPEC’s October Monthly Oil Market Report, Nigeria’s oil output fluctuated between 1.3 and 1.4 million barrels per day from January to June 2025, climbed to 1.5 million barrels per day in July, and later declined to 1.4 million in August and 1.3 million in September.
Ojulari attributed the earlier drop in output to the recent dispute between the Dangote Refinery and the oil sector unions — the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).