Nigeria’s Oil Policy Shifts Toward Active Development

The Nigerian government has instructed oil and gas operators to invest in production or risk losing their petroleum licences. This directive aims to end the practice of hoarding oil and gas assets, as outlined in recent reports.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, emphasized the enforcement of the drill-or-drop policy under the Petroleum Industry Act. This policy is intended to recover and reassign undeveloped assets to investors capable of production.

Lokpobiri noted that the policy has enhanced the authority of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission to reclaim licences from non-compliant operators. Some companies are now voluntarily relinquishing assets to avoid regulatory action.