Nigeria’s deep offshore oil and gas sector could attract up to $50 billion in fresh investment and increase crude oil and condensate production by about one million barrels per day, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says.
The commission said the expected boost would follow the implementation of the Deep Offshore Oil and Gas Project Incentives (Tax Remission) Executive Order 2026, approved by President Bola Tinubu on 11 August.
The reform is designed to provide investors with a more predictable fiscal and regulatory framework, replacing project-by-project negotiations with a transparent system of incentives.
According to the NUPRC, the policy is aimed at unlocking investment in deep offshore developments that have remained commercially challenging because of their high capital requirements and long project cycles.
The commission said the additional investment could help accelerate the development of offshore fields, expand national production capacity and strengthen government revenues from the petroleum sector.
The latest initiative forms part of broader efforts by the Tinubu administration and the NUPRC to improve the investment climate in Nigeria’s upstream oil and gas industry.
The regulator has repeatedly emphasised the need for predictable regulations, faster approvals and lower transaction costs to attract capital and bring new projects into production. (NUPRC)
The NUPRC said the deep offshore incentives are expected to improve the economics of eligible projects while giving investors greater certainty when making long-term investment decisions.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer for decades, has been seeking to reverse production declines and attract new capital into the sector amid intense competition for global energy investment.
Recent developments indicate renewed investor interest in the country’s deepwater assets. In July, ExxonMobil announced a $1 billion investment in its Usan Infill Project, which the NUPRC said was expected to add about 40,000 barrels per day to production. (NUPRC)
The commission said the wider development of deep offshore assets would be crucial to achieving Nigeria’s production ambitions, increasing reserves and sustaining government revenues.
If successfully implemented, the new tax framework could therefore mark a significant shift in Nigeria’s approach to attracting investment into one of the country’s most capital-intensive petroleum frontiers.
