Nigeria’s total oil rig count has risen to more than 100, with 46 rigs currently engaged in drilling operations, as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to boost crude oil production and attract investment into the upstream petroleum sector.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) disclosed this during the management session of the 44th Annual International Conference and Exhibition of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) in Lagos on Tuesday, November 10, 2026.
The Commission Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Basinal Administration at NUPRC, Ahmad Abdullahi, attributed the increase in upstream activities to improved regulatory processes and greater investor confidence.
Eyesan said Nigeria’s rig count had increased by more than 300 per cent compared with the level recorded in 2021, reflecting improved activity in the country’s oil and gas industry.
She also disclosed that the Commission had approved 595 well re-entry operations, 145 new well-drilling activities and 39 Field Development Plans (FDPs) year-to-date in 2026.
According to her, the approvals reflect efforts to reduce regulatory delays, lower operating costs and enable oil and gas companies to advance their production plans.
“Year to date, about 39 FDPs have been approved. About 145 new well-drilling approvals granted. Year to date, about 595 well reentry approvals were granted. That goes to tell that as a commission, we have improved our approval time level, which again reduce costs that is being wasted or for projects to continue to wait for approval,” she said.
The NUPRC chief executive noted that timely regulatory approvals were essential to sustaining investment and ensuring that Nigeria’s energy security was not threatened by delays in project execution.
She further identified regulatory certainty as a major factor influencing investment decisions in the upstream sector, noting that investors were more willing to commit capital when they had confidence in the country’s policies and operating environment.
Eyesan also highlighted the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) as a framework that had strengthened investor confidence, particularly in seismic data acquisition.
She disclosed that multi-client seismic companies had invested more than $100 million in acquiring seismic data in Nigeria within the three years following the enactment of the PIA.
The investments are expected to improve geological understanding of the country’s sedimentary basins, providing exploration companies with better information to identify potential oil and gas resources.
On security, the Commission highlighted measures aimed at protecting oil and gas infrastructure and reducing crude oil theft.
These include the Advanced Cargo Declaration programme and coordinated surveillance involving the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), private security companies such as Tantita Security Services and the Nigerian Navy.
Eyesan said the regulator’s responsibility extended beyond sanctioning errant operators and vandals, adding that its broader objective was to create an operating environment where legitimate oil production would be more profitable than crude oil theft.
