Retreats are where institutions come closest to being honest with themselves. They are an opportunity to ask not simply how we are performing, but whether we are becoming the institution Nigeria needs us to be. That is how I intend to use my time with you today.
Let me begin by congratulating the Commission and indeed Nigeria, on two significant milestones.
First, the one-billion-dollar commitment by Esso and its partners towards on block activities for the Usan Infill Project, the company’s first major deepwater investment in Nigeria in a decade, which will unlock up to 40,000 more barrels of oil per day.
Second, the successful conclusion of the recent licensing rounds and the handover of nineteen Petroleum Prospecting Licences to twelve awardees across deep o shore, continental shelf and shallow water acreages.
These are more than isolated successes. They are evidence that condence in Nigeria’s upstream sector is returning.
When we speak of the Federal Government’s vision for Nigeria’s upstream petroleum industry, we are, in truth, speaking of the vision of one man, His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.
It is a vision shaped by decades of engagement with the industry, informed by practical experience, and anchored in a simple political philosophy: that public policy should deliver the greatest good to the greatest number.
But good policy only changes lives when institutions execute it consistently and improve it continuously.
The Federal Government’s vision is therefore straightforward: build on the Petroleum Industry Act, restore production, attract investment, increase government revenues, expand indigenous participation, and deliver all of this with greater competitiveness, speed, and lower emissions.
But vision alone does not create competitiveness.
Government translates vision into strategic policy. The regulator translates policy into consistent, credible regulation. Industry translates regulatory certainty into investment, production, jobs, and national prosperity.
Every part of that chain matters. It is only as strong as its weakest link.
The past three years have undoubtedly produced measurable results. Production has recovered. Investment has returned. Indigenous participation has expanded. But those are outcomes, not the achievement itself.
The real achievement is that Nigeria has fundamentally changed how investors think about our market.
Capital now increasingly assumes that reforms will endure, that decisions will be taken more quickly, that regulation will be more predictable and that government intends to compete for investment, not simply regulate it.
Confidence has become one of Nigeria’s most valuable strategic assets.
Yet confidence is fragile. It takes years to build and only moments to lose.
That is why our next task is di erent from the last. The challenge is no longer simply to reform. It is to institutionalise reform so that condence no longer depends on individuals but on the strength of our institutions.
That is where this Board comes in.
The Petroleum Industry Act created the NUPRC as Nigeria’s single upstream regulator for a reason. Investors should encounter one regulator, one clear process and one consistent interpretation of the law and policy.
Every time that principle is upheld, Nigeria becomes more competitive. Every time it is compromised, competitiveness is diminished.
This brings me to what I believe is the Commission’s most important responsibility.
Policy and regulation are not separate exercises. They are one continuous system.
Government denes the destination and the economic rationale. The regulator converts that intent into decisions the market can rely upon.
But the policymaker’s work does not end once implementation begins.
Regulation is where policy meets commercial reality. It tells us what is working, where unintended consequences have emerged and where further renement is required.
That is why policymakers and regulators must remain in constant dialogue.
Policy should guide regulation. Regulatory experience should continuously improve policy.
This is not about compromising regulatory independence. It is about ensuring that implementation stays faithful to policy intent while allowing implementation to improve future policymaking.
The world’s most competitive jurisdictions do not win because they write better policies. They win because their institutions learn faster than everyone else’s.
They set policy. They implement. They measure outcomes. They listen to the market. They rene the framework. Then they do it again.
Competitiveness is not achieved once. It is maintained through continuous learning. Nigeria has regained an important competitive advantage. Preserving it will require policymakers and regulators to remain aligned, intellectually honest and committed to continuous improvement.
As a newly constituted Board, you inherit three years of di cult reforms and hard-won credibility. Your responsibility is not simply to preserve those gains. It is to institutionalise them. There is still considerable work ahead. Contracting cycles have fallen from thirty-six months to fourteen. That is progress, not victory.
Our upstream costs remain too high. Every unnecessary approval, every inconsistent interpretation, every duplicated process, and every delayed permit is ultimately an economic decision. It either increases costs or prevents investment altogether.
Reducing those frictions is not simply administrative e ciency. It is national competitiveness.
The next licensing round oers an opportunity to prove that our reforms have become institutional rather than individual.
Investors do not question Nigeria’s geology. They are watching whether our execution consistently matches our ambition.
A licensing round that is transparent, predictable, delivered on schedule and free from late reversals will do more for Nigeria’s investment reputation than any investment roadshow.
We must also unlock the full potential of our marginal elds. A licence sitting on a shelf is not indigenous participation. It is delayed production, delayed jobs and delayed government revenue. National assets must create national value.
I also commend the Commission’s work on decommissioning liabilities and the establishment of Host Community Development Trusts.
These are not compliance exercises. They reinforce condence that the Petroleum Industry Act delivers not only for investors, but also for host communities and future generations.
Finally, let me commend the Commission’s continued investment in digital regulation and hydrocarbon accounting. Digital regulation is not principally a technology project.
It is a competitiveness project.
Better data strengthens transparency, improves policymaking, enables faster regulatory decisions and helps government respond more quickly as markets evolve.
In an industry where trust is often the scarcest commodity, better data remains one of the most eective ways to build more of it.
Let me conclude where I began.
The Federal Government’s vision is ambitious but remarkably simple: three million barrels of oil per day, ten billion cubic feet of gas per day, and an upstream sector that is globally competitive, transparent and trusted.
That vision will not be delivered by strategies or legislation alone.
It will be delivered policy by policy, licence by licence, permit by permit and investment by investment.
The Petroleum Industry Act has given this Commission a clear mandate. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has provided equally clear strategic policy direction.
Our collective responsibility is to preserve the integrity of the entire chain from presidential vision to government policy, to regulatory execution, to investment, to production and to prosperity for the Nigerian people.
If we keep that chain aligned and continue learning faster than the market evolves, Nigeria will not simply remain competitive. We will dene the standard by which competitive jurisdictions are judged.
Because, ultimately, enduring competitiveness is not created by individuals. It is created by institutions.
That is the responsibility entrusted to this Board.
We have every condence that you will rise to it.
Thank you.