Charles Edoboh
Nigeria’s upstream oil and fuel sector is displaying unmistakable indicators of renewal as NNPC Exploration & Manufacturing Restricted (NEPL) data its highest each day oil manufacturing in 36 years. On December 1, 2025, NEPL achieved a landmark output of 355,000 barrels of oil per day, its strongest efficiency since 1989 marking a defining second within the ongoing transformation of the Nigerian Nationwide Petroleum Firm (NNPC) Restricted beneath the management of the Group Chief Government Officer, Engr. Bashir Ojulari.
The achievement is greater than a manufacturing milestone; it’s a clear validation of Ojulari’s industrial, performance-driven mandate for NNPC Restricted and its subsidiaries. It underscores a strategic shift away from legacy inefficiencies towards operational self-discipline, asset optimisation, and sustainable worth creation. These are the pillars which might be quick redefining Nigeria’s power narrative.
Whereas the nation remained Africa’s largest oil producer by reserves, precise manufacturing usually fell far beneath potential, undermining income era, power safety, and investor confidence.
In opposition to this backdrop, NEPL’s current efficiency stands out. Information from the corporate reveals that common each day manufacturing rose by 52 p.c, climbing from 203,000 bpd in 2023 to 312,000 bpd in 2025, culminating within the record-breaking 355,000 bpd milestone. This progress trajectory displays a deliberate and sustained turnaround fairly than a one-off spike.
The outcomes sign that Nigeria’s upstream sector which has been lengthy constrained by structural and operational bottlenecks is starting to transform reform into measurable outcomes.
Since assuming management, Ojulari has constantly emphasised a industrial mindset, anchored on effectivity, accountability, and outcomes. His mandate for NNPC Restricted is evident: function as a aggressive, profit-driven nationwide power firm able to delivering worth to Nigerians whereas assembly international requirements.
Talking on the milestone, Ojulari described NEPL’s efficiency as proof that Nigeria’s power revival is not aspirational however already underway.
“By displaying its capacity to exceed its personal manufacturing benchmarks, NEPL confirms that the important constructing blocks for scaling nationwide output are being firmly established,” he stated.
He added, “The equipment of manufacturing—tools, processes, capabilities, and partnerships—will be pushed with industrial self-discipline to supply actual and optimistic outcomes.”
Beneath this mandate, NNPC subsidiaries are being repositioned to give attention to asset integrity, value self-discipline, structured discipline growth, and stronger partnerships. These parts have traditionally been the weak factors within the sector.
Nigeria’s presidential manufacturing targets which was given as 2 million barrels per day by 2027 and three million by 2030 have usually been seen with skepticism, given previous efficiency. Nonetheless, NEPL’s supply offers tangible momentum towards these targets.
By demonstrating that vital manufacturing will increase are achievable inside current asset portfolios, NEPL strengthens the credibility of Nigeria’s broader manufacturing roadmap. It additionally highlights the function nationwide oil firms can play when industrial logic, technical competence, and management alignment converge.
The milestone converts ambition into motion, narrowing the hole between coverage goals and operational actuality.
Based on the Government Vice President, Upstream, Udy Ntia, the importance of NEPL’s achievement goes past the headline manufacturing determine. In an business the place shortcuts can produce short-term beneficial properties at long-term value, NEPL has intentionally chosen a special path.
“Sustainable progress should relaxation on accountable operations,” Ntia famous. “Scaling manufacturing can’t come on the expense of employee security, host communities, or environmental safety.”
This method displays a broader shift inside NNPC Restricted towards accountable power growth, aligning with international expectations round environmental stewardship, social accountability, and governance (ESG). By embedding sustainability into its manufacturing technique, NEPL is positioning itself not simply as a volume-driven producer, however as a contemporary upstream firm with long-term relevance.
For Nicolas Foucart, Managing Director of NEPL, the record-setting efficiency is the product of aligned management, accountable partnerships, and a extremely dedicated workforce.
“This can be a story formed by management that charts a transparent course; by partnerships constructed on alignment and accountability; and by a workforce whose onerous work is popping targets into measurable progress,” Foucart stated. “Our folks, our processes, and our ideas are the true engines behind this success.”
The emphasis on folks and methods marks a departure from the previous, the place institutional weaknesses usually undermined technical functionality. As we speak, NEPL’s progress means that inside tradition change—supported by clear efficiency expectations—is turning into considered one of NNPC’s most respected belongings.
Past home implications, NEPL’s efficiency sends a robust sign to worldwide traders and companions. Nigeria’s oil and fuel sector has, lately, confronted capital flight as international traders questioned regulatory stability and operational reliability.
The flexibility to ship sustained manufacturing progress beneath a reformed company construction reinforces confidence that Nigeria is severe about restoring its competitiveness. Ojulari famous that the milestone reassures international markets that Nigeria stays dedicated to its function as a reliable power provider.
In a world power system nonetheless closely reliant on hydrocarbon notably for power safety in rising markets such credibility is crucial.
For Nigerians, the implications of NEPL’s achievement prolong far past manufacturing statistics. Increased output interprets immediately into elevated nationwide income, improved international alternate inflows, and better fiscal stability. At a time when power safety is more and more linked to nationwide safety and financial resilience, NEPL’s efficiency strengthens Nigeria’s strategic place.
As Foucart emphasised, the milestone represents greater than barrels produced; it reinforces perception in what Nigeria’s power sector can obtain with the best methods, tradition, and management.
Stronger home manufacturing additionally enhances Nigeria’s capability to satisfy inside power wants whereas sustaining export commitments, which is an important steadiness in a risky international power surroundings.
NEPL’s success mirrors the broader transformation unfolding throughout NNPC Restricted following its transition into a totally industrial entity beneath the Petroleum Business Act (PIA). The Act redefined NNPC’s function, shifting it from a price heart right into a value-driven firm accountable to its shareholders.
Ojulari’s management has centered on operational transparency, monetary self-discipline, and efficiency measurement, making certain that subsidiaries like NEPL function with readability of function and industrial focus.
Whereas challenges stay,branging from infrastructure constraints to safety considerations, the 36-year manufacturing excessive achieved by NEPL gives compelling proof that Nigeria’s upstream sector is on a restoration path.
Extra importantly, it demonstrates that reform, when constantly utilized, can ship tangible outcomes. As NEPL builds on this momentum, its efficiency will stay central to Nigeria’s quest for power safety, financial resilience, and international relevance.
Within the evolving story of Nigeria’s power sector, NEPL’s 355,000 bpd milestone stands as a strong chapter,none that affirms that beneath Ojulari’s industrial mandate, Nigeria’s power revival isn’t just attainable, however already in movement.
