By Onogwu Muhammed —
For decades, Nigeria has grappled with a striking paradox. Despite possessing Africa’s largest proven oil reserves and one of the continent’s most significant natural gas deposits, it has struggled to convert its abundant resources into sustained economic prosperity. Crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism, regulatory uncertainty and inconsistent corporate governance have repeatedly undermined investor confidence, leaving the country’s petroleum sector operating below its enormous potential.
That challenge is becoming more urgent. As the global energy landscape evolves and investment capital becomes increasingly selective, countries are competing not only on the size of their hydrocarbon reserves but also on the strength of their institutions, the predictability of their policies and the efficiency of their national oil companies.
It is against this backdrop that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, under the leadership of its Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, has embarked on an ambitious reform agenda aimed at repositioning the company as a commercially driven energy enterprise capable of attracting long-term investment and supporting national development.
The scale of that ambition was evident at this year’s NOG Energy Week in Abuja, where Ojulari unveiled an investment roadmap targeting US$30 billion in oil and gas investments by 2027 and US$60 billion by 2030. Achieving those targets will require far more than attracting new capital. It will depend on sustaining improvements in production, infrastructure security, corporate governance and operational efficiency while convincing investors that Nigeria offers a stable and predictable business environment.
The reforms undertaken during the past year suggest that NNPC is beginning to address those fundamentals.
Execution before ambition
One of the most significant indicators of progress has been the improvement in pipeline security.
For years, crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism severely constrained Nigeria’s production capacity, discouraged investment and deprived the country of substantial revenue. Between 2017 and 2021, the nation reportedly lost about ₦4.325 trillion to crude theft and pipeline vandalism, with more than 208 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products lost through over 7,100 incidents.
Reversing that trend required more than policy pronouncements. It demanded stronger surveillance, closer collaboration with security agencies and host communities, and a renewed focus on protecting critical infrastructure.
The results have been encouraging.
NNPC recently recorded 100 per cent availability across its major crude oil pipeline network, an operational milestone that reflects significant progress in securing infrastructure that had long been vulnerable to disruption. While sustaining that performance remains the real test, it demonstrates that long-standing operational challenges can be addressed through disciplined execution.
The company has also advanced strategic infrastructure projects that are critical to Nigeria’s long-term energy ambitions.
The completion of the River Niger crossing on the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline Project marked one of the project’s most technically demanding phases. Together with the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) pipeline, the AKK project is expected to strengthen domestic gas transportation, improve energy supply to industries and support Nigeria’s transition towards a more gas-powered economy.
Operational improvements are equally evident in production figures.
NNPC reported crude oil production of 1.71 million barrels per day, including condensates, the highest level recorded in five years. Daily gas production also rose to 7.5 billion standard cubic feet, reflecting steady growth across Nigeria’s gas value chain.
Several upstream projects have contributed to that momentum, including Madu First Oil, the Akpo West development, the Soku gas optimisation project and the Gbaran Nodal Compression Train. Collectively, these investments demonstrate a renewed emphasis on increasing production while improving the reliability of Nigeria’s upstream operations.
These achievements matter because investment decisions in the energy sector are driven less by promises than by performance. Stable production, secure infrastructure and timely project delivery provide stronger signals to investors than ambitious policy declarations alone.
If operational improvements have provided evidence of progress, NNPC’s financial performance has offered further indication that the company is beginning to function more like a commercially driven energy enterprise.
For the 2025 financial year, NNPC reported ₦60.5 trillion in revenue, ₦5.76 trillion in profit after tax and ₦14.7 trillion in remittances to the Federation Account. While these figures reflect favourable market conditions, they also point to improvements in operational efficiency and financial discipline.
