{"id":14492,"date":"2026-11-10T19:15:52","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T19:15:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/10\/nuprc-approves-740-oil-drilling-re-entry-operations-in-10-months-businessday-ng\/"},"modified":"2026-11-10T19:15:52","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T19:15:52","slug":"nuprc-approves-740-oil-drilling-re-entry-operations-in-10-months-businessday-ng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/10\/nuprc-approves-740-oil-drilling-re-entry-operations-in-10-months-businessday-ng\/","title":{"rendered":"NUPRC approves 740 oil drilling, re-entry operations in 10 months – Businessday NG"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2026Rig count hits 100<\/strong><\/em>\n<\/p>\n

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has approved a total of 740 oil drilling operations in the first 10 months of 2026, as the oil rig count rises to 100.\n<\/p>\n

Of the 740 oil drilling operations approved between January and October, 595 wells were re-entries, and 145 were new drilling operations. The regulator also approved 39 field development plans within the period.\n<\/p>\n

Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, chief executive of the NUPRC, disclosed this on Tuesday at the 44th Annual International Conference and Exhibition of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) in Lagos.\n<\/p>\n

Read also:\u00a02026 Licensing Round: NUPRC to open bid portal Nov 20, offers 40 oil, gas blocks<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Eyesan, who was represented by Ahmad Abdullahi, deputy director, Basinal Administration at the commission, said the approvals reflect efforts to accelerate upstream investments, reduce project delays and support Nigeria\u2019s production targets.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cYear to date, about 39 field development plans have been approved. About 145 new well-drilling approvals were granted. Year to date, about 595 well re-entry approvals were granted,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n

She said the commission had improved its approval timelines, reducing the costs operators incur while waiting for regulatory clearance to proceed with projects.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the regulator\u2019s perspective, to ensure that our energy security is not threatened, we must ensure that we approve field development plans and new well-drilling applications to meet our production targets and guarantee energy availability,\u201d she added.\n<\/p>\n

The approvals come as Nigeria seeks to increase crude oil production, attract fresh investment into its upstream sector and strengthen domestic energy supply.<\/p>\n

Eyesan also disclosed that Nigeria\u2019s total rig count had reached 100, although only 46 rigs were active at the time of the presentation.\n<\/p>\n

Read also:\u00a0NUPRC, Indonesia target energy deals ahead of 2026 licensing round<\/a><\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

Her presentation echoes a similar disclosure by Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum, who said Nigeria\u2019s active oil rigs have quadrupled since 2023, reflecting a recovery in upstream activity as crude oil production climbs to 1.8 million barrels per day.\n<\/p>\n

He reiterated that increased drilling activities are laying the foundation for future production. For him, exploration undertaken today would determine the country\u2019s ability to sustain oil and gas output in the coming years.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe foundation we are laying is to ensure that we take steps towards achieving sustainable production of oil and gas in the country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n

Related News<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFeyishola Jaiyesimi<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Feyishola Jaiyesimi is a writer and storyteller. She currently writes for the energy desk at BusinessDay with a focus on renewable energy and environmental issues. She began her journalism career as an agricultural reporter and now covers the energy sector, including oil, gas, electricity, environment, and renewables. She has been selected for professional training by the US Consulate, Lagos. She is a 2025 Dataphyte Biodiversity Reporting Fellow. Feyishola holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in Zoology and Environmental Biology from Ekiti State University.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n
\n\t
\n\t\t\"Add
\n\t<\/a>
\n\t
\n\t\t\"Follow
\n\t<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

Source: <\/p>\n

Businessday NG<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2026Rig count hits 100 The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has approved a total of 740 oil drilling operations in the first 10 months of 2026, as the oil… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14493,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14492\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}