NUPRC Unveils 22-Project Offshore Pipeline for Nigeria

Nigeria's Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has identified 22 major offshore projects, comprising 12 deepwater and 10 shallow-water developments, as part of a pipeline it says could attract substantial new investment into the country's upstream petroleum sector, Commission Chief Executive Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan said at the Nigeria Investment Forum 2026 in New York.

Eyesan, represented by Executive Commissioner for Corporate Services and Administration Kelechi Onyekachi Ofoegbu, highlighted emerging investment opportunities across Nigeria's offshore, gas and brownfield assets, assets in already-producing fields that require further investment to sustain or boost output.

She said the combination of regulatory reforms, improved project economics and a growing pipeline of development-ready assets is creating new opportunities for investors and industry partners.

The 22 identified projects include major developments such as Bonga Southwest, Aparo, Zaba Zaba, Owowo, Bosi and Egina South.

Investment is already moving into active projects

Beyond the pipeline of prospective developments, the NUPRC pointed to recent capital commitments across projects including Bonga North, the Obeta Gas Development, the HIN Associated Gas Development and the Iseni Gas Development, which it said demonstrate that investor interest is translating into actual project development rather than remaining at the planning stage.

The commission said it has approved 120 Field Development Plans since 2024, representing more than $57 billion in potential investment, a volume it described as reflecting a significant pipeline of projects moving through the regulatory process.

Reforms aim to improve project bankability

Eyesan said the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 provided the foundation for restructuring the industry's regulatory architecture, with subsequent government and NUPRC-led reforms aimed at improving the predictability and bankability of upstream projects, the extent to which a project's expected returns and risks are clear enough to attract financing.

She placed particular emphasis on incentives for non-associated gas, gas produced independently of oil rather than as a byproduct, and deepwater developments, as well as measures designed to shorten contracting cycles and provide greater certainty around project economics.

Whether the 22 identified offshore projects progress from pipeline listings to the kind of final investment decisions already reached on projects such as Bonga North and Iseni will determine how much of the commission's projected investment materialises in the coming years.