The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Limited) has announced a $3.4 billion cost reduction through contract restructuring and operational optimisation over the past year, alongside a 6 per cent increase in crude oil production and an 8.1 per cent increase in gas output.
The figures were disclosed by NNPC group chief executive officer, Bashir Bayo Ojulari, during his keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Nigerian Oil & Gas (NOG) Energy Week in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to the company’s one-year scorecard covering April 2025 to date, crude oil production reached 569.7 million barrels, representing a 6 per cent year-on-year increase. Gas production rose to 2,576 billion standard cubic feet (bscf), up 8.1 per cent compared with the previous period.
Speaking at the ongoing Nigerian Oil and Gas (NOG) Conference & Exhibition 2026, Ojulari said the improved performance reflected stronger operational discipline and deeper collaboration across the value chain. He told the conference that NNPC viewed itself not only as an energy producer but as an ecosystem builder linking capital, technology, policy, talent and markets.
The scorecard also showed that the government’s share of oil returns increased by 21.8 per cent, with N19.5 trillion paid to the Federation Account during the period.
The group CEO explained that the $3.4 billion cost saving was achieved through “contract restructuring and optimisation.” He said the company had reviewed existing agreements, improved operational efficiency and reduced wastage across its operations.
Ojulari noted that better efficiency was also evident in the performance of export terminals. The average terminal recovery factor between January 2021 and May 2026 was reported at 98 per cent, a sharp improvement from a low of about one per cent at the BOGT terminal in June 2022.
He said the recovery rate was sustained through industry-wide intervention, surveillance and improved monitoring, with all five export terminals now operating at high recovery levels.
Pipeline availability was also reported at 100 per cent across key systems, including TNP, TEP, TRP, TFP and OANDO-BRASS, as of 28 June 2026.
Cash-Call Performance and Joint Venture Challenges
On joint venture cash-call obligations, Ojulari said NNPC had maintained 100 per cent compliance from FY2025 to June 2026 in both Nigerian naira and dollar terms.
However, he acknowledged that partner compliance was lower, with a blended paid rate of 61 per cent across 177 obligation months. The company said 22 per cent of partners were fully current, 48 per cent showed partial compliance with some recent slippage between May and June 2026, and 30 per cent remained in significant default with chronic arrears.
Ojulari said judicial and contractual measures under joint operating agreements were being applied to partners in the significant default category. He affirmed that NNPC continued to fund its share of joint venture operations to keep projects running.
He reiterated the company’s commitment to sustaining joint venture cash calls as part of its drive toward achieving 2 million barrels per day in oil production.
The group CEO highlighted several strategic partnerships that have been concluded since the last NOG Energy Week. These included:
A long-term gas sales agreement with Nigeria LNG for 1.29 billion standard cubic feet per day, executed in August 2025.
Deepwater investment agreements for OPL 2001/2002 and OPL 245, with over US$20 billion in committed investments.
A framework agreement with Sahara Group under a Strategic Project Framework Agreement (SPFA), executed in December 2025.
Network exit agreements with DFL FZE and Dangote Refinery for industrial gas supply, signed in January 2026.
Memoranda of understanding with potential technical partnership partners for refineries, including PHRC and WRPC, executed in April 2026.
An MoU and gas supply agreement with Ajaokuta Steel Company, signed in June and July 2026 respectively.
Ojulari said these partnerships reflected a move from transactional relationships to strategic alliances aimed at building integrated value chains and industrialising the economy around Nigeria’s energy resources.
He listed seven major projects “on the horizon” between July 2026 and December 2027, including:
UTM FLING offshore with final investment decision at the gate
OB3 domestic gas pipeline serving as an east-to-west connector
AKK domestic gas pipeline to support power and industrialisation
Refinery technical partnership programmes for total end-state solutions
Zabazaba ultra-deepwater project
Owowo deepwater project
BSWAP deepwater development with final investment decision at the gate
Call for Global Collaboration
In his keynote, titled “Forging Africa’s Strategic Energy Growth Through Global Collaboration,” Ojulari said Africa’s energy challenge was not a shortage of resources, talent or opportunity, but fragmentation of the ecosystem needed to convert resources into prosperity.
He argued that the continent required stronger alignment between resource owners and operators, investors and projects, innovation and execution, policy and capital, and research and commercialisation.
Ojulari said the winners of the next energy era would not necessarily be those with the largest reserves, but those who could build the most effective partnerships and resilient ecosystems around those reserves.
He noted that Africa held about 17 per cent of global natural gas reserves, vast oil resources, critical minerals and significant renewable energy potential, yet attracted a disproportionately small share of global energy investment.
The group CEO urged Nigeria to deepen collaboration between NNPC Limited, international operators, indigenous companies, financial institutions, regulators, technology providers, academic institutions and local service companies.
He said the country must create environments where capital feels welcome, technology feels useful, talent feels valued, and innovation feels rewarded.
Ojulari also called for stronger links between research and industry so that universities could become sources of solutions rather than merely centres of learning. He added that regulatory frameworks must remain stable, transparent and investment-friendly, while indigenous technical capacity must be accelerated to compete globally.
Vision for African Energy
The NNPC CEO said the future of African energy would not be determined solely by resources beneath the soil but by the quality of partnerships forged above it.
He outlined a vision in which African resources drive African industrialisation, gas powers factories and homes, research becomes innovation, innovation becomes industry, and industry becomes prosperity.
Ojulari said Africa should not remain only a supplier of energy to the world but should become a global centre of energy investment, technology, manufacturing and value creation.
He urged governments, national oil companies, international investors, academia, regulators, financiers and service providers to work together towards a shared vision, stating that the opportunity was extraordinary, the responsibility was theirs and the time to act was now.