The Federal Government has identified new oil fields capable of delivering about 681,000 barrels of crude oil per day and 1.52 billion standard cubic feet of gas daily.

It disclosed this in a new document put together by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission titled “Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Sector: Value Optimisation, Energy Transition and Regulatory Perspectives.”

In the document, obtained by our correspondent in Abuja, the Chief Executive of NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, explained that incremental volumes of crude were expected from new wells and well re-entry.

He said, “We have also completed the 2020 Marginal Field Bid Round and issued 50 Petroleum Prospecting Licenses to deserving awardees. It is expected that with the existing discoveries in the awarded fields, an early Field Development Plan would be pursued by the awardees leading to incremental oil and gas production.

“The commission is facilitating timely approvals for expedited re-entry and early production. The estimated incremental production from the awarded fields is approximately 58,000bpd and 87mmscf/d.

“In the short/medium term, we expect an estimated incremental volume of 461,000bpd and 565mmscf/d from new wells and well re-entry. In the long term, we expect an estimated incremental volume of 162,000bpd and 868mmscf/d from FDPs, which have been approved and are at various stages of execution.”

Komolafe further noted that the implementation of Host Community Provisions under Section 235 of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 saddled the commission with the responsibility of ensuring conducive and peaceful relationships among stakeholders within the host communities.

This, he said, would be done through the implementation of the Host Communities Development Trust.

“The commission, in collaboration with the relevant stakeholders, has developed templates and gazetted regulations, which include that of the Host Community Development Trust.

The essence of the HCDT is to integrate oil-bearing communities into the value chain and effectively cater for the development needs of impacted communities, thus positively curbing restiveness in such communities and offering an enabling environment for operators to thrive.

“This is expected to guarantee seamless operation, boost investor confidence, and provide an enabling environment for sustainable development of the country’s hydrocarbon resources,” Komolafe stated.

He added that the NUPRC was happy to disclose that over 60 Host Community Development Trusts had been approved by the commission.

“This is indeed a milestone in the implementation of the PIA, 2021,” he stated.

The Federal Government and its agencies have been making efforts to grow the country’s crude oil output in a bid to meet the 1.8 million barrels per day quota approved for Nigeria by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

On Monday, for instance, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited said the country’s oil production had increased to 1.6 million barrels per day, a few million short of the 1.8mbpd quota allocated to Nigeria by OPEC.

NNPCL’s Group Chief Executive, Mele Kyari, who revealed this at a meeting of industry stakeholders in Abuja, also stated that the rectangular security approach ensured the recovery of production from what it was in July 2022 to the current 1.67 million barrels per day.

Kyari, who was represented by the Head of Upstream Investment, NNPCL, Bala Wunti, at the event, said the implementation of the Detect, Deter, Destroy and Recover policy had paid off.

Other strategies that were deployed include the establishment of the Central Command and Control Centre for effective monitoring and coordination, the launch of the Whistle-Blowers Portal and the Crude Oil Validation Portal, as well as the deployment of surveillance tools in the fight against oil theft and vandalism.