Mkpoikana Udoma
Abuja — The Federal Government has issued a clear directive to international oil companies, IOCs, and other operators to immediately reopen and resume production from all dormant oil wells, as part of its aggressive push to meet Nigeria’s 2025 crude oil production target of 2.06 million barrels per day.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, issued the directive while speaking at the just concluded Nigeria Oil and Gas, NOG Energy Week 2025 in Abuja, warning that idle assets will no longer be tolerated in the upstream oil and gas sector.
“The time for dormant wells is over. Some companies shut down over 500 wells due to delayed divestments. We must reverse that,” Lokpobiri declared.
“Part of the strategy for us to ramp up production is for us to ensure that there is work on every well. There are too many idle wells. There are too many shutting wells. So I’m encouraging them to return to those wells.”
The Minister added that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had instructed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, to review all existing Financial and Technical Services Agreements, FTSAs and called on IOCs to do the same.
“The President has given a directive for the review of the existing FTSAs. These are special partnership arrangements to upscale production. And this shouldn’t be restricted to NNPC alone, even the IOCs must embrace this.”
Lokpobiri linked the surge in investor confidence and increased oil production to the administration’s bold reforms and strategic handling of IOC divestments.
“The summary of what I’ve been talking about is that confidence has returned, and that’s why investments are coming in. For ten years, prior to 2023, Nigeria had no new investments. Today, we have over 40 active rigs, and we are hoping to reach 50 by the end of the year.”
He revealed that after the orderly approval of divestments, investments rose and production increased by more than 300,000 barrels per day, proving critics of divestments wrong.
“Someone asked me in America: ‘Why should I invest in Nigeria when you won’t allow me to divest easily and peacefully?’ But once we approved the divestments, investments increased, and production grew. I said it in Davos in 2024 and Nigerians were not happy. But look at the result, value retention and increased production.”
While acknowledging the capability of NNPC’s new management team, Lokpobiri cautioned against complacency and low ambition, rejecting their 2027 production target of 2 million barrels per day.
“They are targeting 2 million barrels by 2027. Who will wait till then when the 2025 budget is already based on 2.06 million? I told them I don’t agree, and I gave them clear directives. The President’s expectations are very clear on production.”
He also used the platform to call on top international oilfield service companies like Schlumberger and Saipem to return to Nigeria, assuring them of a reformed business environment.
“I want to use NOG 2025 to call on the big boys in oil servicing to return to Nigeria. We are open for business.”
On Local Content policy implementation, the Minister admitted past mistakes and emphasized the importance of genuine partnerships.
“They said local content was misapplied, turned into local substitution, where someone registers a briefcase company and subcontracts to real service firms like Saipem. That’s not what local content is about.”
Lokpobiri concluded by stressing the need for operators to treat production goals as a national priority, especially with Nigeria now positioned for improved access to financing through the African Energy Bank.
“I urged all operators to ensure every asset under them is active and productive. This is not a suggestion but a directive from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We must do something bold, something that directly translates to increased production,” he said.
