The Commission Chief Executive (CCE), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, has disclosed that the nation’s oil production rig count has risen from eight (8) in 2021 to forty-six (46) in July, 2025.
Engr. Komolafe made the disclosure on Wednesday while declaring open a Two-Day Media Workshop organised for journalists covering the oil and gas sector in Abuja.
The rig count is a key metric for measuring vibrancy and performance in the oil and gas industry. It is a key equipment on which the oil is drilled. The rig count reveals the level of vibrancy, and the activities in the industry.
Data from the Commission shows that the 46 active rigs are driving the current oil production in Nigeria.
He attributed the steady growth in rig count to the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in 2021, and the Commission’s unwavering commitment to increasing oil production in the country.
According to him, the NUPRC through the Project One Million Barrels initiative has scaled up Nigeria’s oil production from one million barrels per day, oscillating around 1.7 million barrels.
Launched in October 2024, the initiative is expected to increase oil production by one million additional units per year. Engr. Komolafe revealed that about 300,000 barrels of oil per day has been achieved since the launch of the programme.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for the Executive Orders 40, 41, and 42, which has encouraged tax incentives, tax remission, and has redefined the contracting circle and the threshold in the industry.
These, according to him, have yielded positive results in terms of the final investment decisions that have attracted huge amounts of money, billions of dollars to the country.
The NUPRC boss urged the media practitioners to professionally report the activities of the Commission in such a way that Nigerians would appreciate and understand exactly what it is doing.
“As a regulator, we are wrongly perceived, oftentimes people don’t even understand the difference between a regulator and an operator. As a regulator, our activities put us in a quasi-judicial position, in position to mediate, it’s an omnibus job,” he said.
The workshop was organized to deepen the knowledge of the journalists in the reportage of the sector, especially the activities of the NUPRC.
