By Firdaus Jibril
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has sought the support of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) to raise Nigeria’s crude oil production to three million barrels per day and gas output to 12 billion cubic feet daily by 2030.
The NUPRC Chief Executive, Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, made the call on Wednesday when the newly elected leadership of PENGASSAN, led by its President, Bosun Olabiyi-Agoro, visited the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
Eyesan said Nigeria’s crude oil production had recovered from about 1.1 million barrels per day a few years ago to an estimated 1.755 million barrels per day in 2026, but stressed that sustained industrial stability would be critical to achieving further growth.
She therefore urged the new PENGASSAN leadership to work closely with the Commission to support the Federal Government’s production ambitions.
“As you settle into your new role, be assured that the commission will give you 150 per cent cooperation. In addition to the support we will give you, we want to ask that we work very closely to actualise government objectives,” Eyesan said.
“We want to grow production from our current level to 3 million barrels in 2030. For gas, we are still doing under 8bcf and we want to grow that to 12bcf by 2030. So, let’s make that happen,” she added.
The NUPRC boss also pointed to recent government measures targeted at increasing upstream investment, including an executive order aimed at stimulating investment in deep offshore projects.
Responding, PENGASSAN President Olabiyi-Agoro pledged the union’s cooperation with the regulator, saying all stakeholders in the industry must work together to achieve the 3 million barrels per day target.
“The President of Nigeria has an ambition which he runs through the CCE which is to make sure that by 2030 we are able to produce 3 million barrels per day. All of us have to work to make that happen,” he said.
Olabiyi-Agoro said PENGASSAN would be reasonable and open to collaboration with the Commission, while stressing that the union’s cooperation would not compromise workers’ rights.
He said workers’ right to freely associate and join a union remained non-negotiable, while contract staffing would be one of the key issues his administration would address.
The development places industrial relations alongside investment and regulatory reforms as a key consideration in Nigeria’s efforts to raise upstream production.
For the oil target, Nigeria would need to add about 1.245 million barrels per day to the estimated 1.755 million barrels per day production level cited by NUPRC, while gas output would have to rise from below 8bcf daily to 12bcf.
Eyesan said the Commission was prepared to work with the new PENGASSAN leadership to maintain the industrial stability needed to support higher production and attract further investment into the upstream sector.