Nigeria now produces about 1.6 million barrels of crude oil per day against the 1.25 million barrels daily production recorded last month, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe) has revealed.
The production, which is still 180,000 bpd short of the projected 1.78 million bpd in the 2024 budget, was achieved in the current month. Nigeria has been struggling to improve its oil production. In the first six months of the year, when compared with the budget benchmark, Nigeria was unable to produce about 88.2 million barrels of crude oil, translating to about $7.2 billion. 
Chief Executive of NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, said Nigeria continues to dominate as Africa’s largest producer of crude oil, boasting proven reserves of 37.50 billion barrels and a production capacity of approximately 2.19 million barrels per day (mbpd).
Komolafe spoke during the House of Representatives Special Committee Two Day Public/Investigative Hearing on Oil Theft/Losses. He said the commission would ensure business continuity and production sustainability at low costs, accurate measurement and timely payment of royalties uninterrupted crude oil and natural gas supply to the domestic market, and maintaining safety, health and environmental standards.
Komolafe stated further that the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 grants the commission several statutory mandates in the areas of calibration and certification of metering systems and equipment, publication of reports and statistics on upstream operations, regulatory oversight and issuance of quality and quantity certificates for exports, and determination of fiscal prices for crude oil and condensate.
According to him, the strategies of the commission are aimed at optimising production, enhancing regulatory oversight and ensuring accurate measurement and accounting.
Komolafe said NUPRC has prioritised improving rig availability and reducing non-productive time through unlocking heavy crude oil reserves through industry workshops.
These initiatives, he said, also support new Petroleum Prospecting License (PPL) awardees to achieve first oil, among other initiatives. Speaking on crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, Komolafe said Nigeria was facing significant challenges, especially at Bonny, Brass and Forcados terminals.
This, according to him, has prompted the commission to employ end-to-end production monitoring and a mass balance methodology to accurately account for losses and differentiate them from operational losses. On transparency and accountability, he said the commission has introduced several innovative measures to enhance transparency and accountability.
