NNPC Saves $3.4bn, Remits N19.5tn as FG moves to slash 270 oil sector charges

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says it has saved $3.4 billion through contract restructuring and operational reforms over the past 14 months, while remitting N19.5 trillion to the Federation Account, as the Federal Government moves to eliminate more than 270 fees, taxes and levies imposed on oil and gas operators.

The announcements, made at the opening of the 25th edition of NOG Energy Week 2026 in Abuja, underscore the government’s broader push to improve the competitiveness of Nigeria’s energy sector, attract fresh investments and accelerate production growth.

Speaking at the conference, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Bashir Bayo Ojulari, said the company achieved the savings between April 2025 and July 2026 through contract optimisation initiatives designed to cut costs and improve efficiency.

According to him, the reforms also boosted government revenues, with NNPC’s contribution to the Federation Account rising to N19.5 trillion, representing a 21.8% year-on-year increase.

The disclosures come as the oil company reported a series of operational milestones, including crude oil production reaching 1.71 million barrels per day, its highest level in five years, and gas output climbing to 7.5 billion standard cubic feet per day.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, revealed that the government has engaged to benchmark Nigeria’s oil and gas fiscal charges against those of competing jurisdictions.

The review follows long-standing complaints from operators over the existence of more than 270 separate fees, taxes and levies across the industry.

“Let us benchmark Nigeria against other jurisdictions in the world because we have committed to being globally competitive,” Lokpobiri said.

The minister noted that the findings of the review are expected to guide reforms aimed at streamlining compliance requirements and improving the ease of doing business in the sector.

Beyond cost savings, NNPC reported maintaining 100% compliance with its joint venture cash call obligations from 2025 through June 2026.

However, the company disclosed that compliance among its partners remained weak. Of 27 joint venture partners, only six met their obligations fully, while eight recorded significant defaults.

Ojulari said the company had begun enforcing contractual remedies against non-compliant partners.

“We have zero tolerance for partners who are not able to fund their cash calls,” he said.

The company added that it resumed full monthly remittances to the Federation Account in July 2025, reinstated monthly business performance reporting and hosted its first earnings call in November 2025 as part of efforts to strengthen transparency and investor confidence.

NNPC’s scorecard showed a 6% year-on-year increase in crude oil production and an 8.1% rise in gas output.

The company also recorded an average recovery rate of 98% across its five crude export terminals between April 2025 and May 2026, compared with operational lows experienced in 2022.

According to Ojulari, production by NNPC Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL) reached a record 365,000 barrels per day, while progress on key infrastructure projects, including the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline and the ANOH Gas Processing Plant, helped drive gas supply growth.

The company said it remains focused on achieving the government’s target of producing two million barrels of crude oil daily.

NNPC also disclosed that recent Gas Sale and Purchase Agreements signed with major industrial and energy players, including Dangote Refinery, are expected to unlock more than $20 billion in associated investments.

The agreements cover 1.29 billion standard cubic feet per day of LNG feed gas supply and 750 million standard cubic feet per day of domestic industrial gas delivery.

Meanwhile, Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited announced a major hydrocarbon discovery at the JK-004 exploration well in Oil Mining Lease 74.

Chief Executive Officer, Tony Attah, said preliminary evaluation revealed approximately 1,000 feet of hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs containing light crude oil, less than a year after the company’s acquisition of former onshore assets of Shell.

While highlighting the company’s one-year performance scorecard, Ojulari called for stronger collaboration across Africa’s energy ecosystem, arguing that fragmented partnerships remain one of the continent’s biggest barriers to attracting capital and developing energy infrastructure.

Despite holding around 17% of global natural gas reserves, Africa continues to receive only a small share of worldwide energy investment, he noted.

“The future of African energy will not be determined solely by the resources beneath our soil, but by the quality of the partnerships we forge above it,” Ojulari said.