FG Threatens Oil Licence Revocation As Output Hits 1.8m

The federal government has warned oil companies holding undeveloped fields that they risk losing their licences if they fail to bring them into production, even as the country’s crude output edged up to 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd), its highest in months.
Minister of state for petroleum Heineken Lokpobiri, said dormant assets are draining government revenues and undermining Nigeria’s standing within OPEC. “We cannot continue with dormant licences while our economy suffers. Holders of these assets must bring them into production or lose them to serious investors,” he declared.
The ultimatum comes after the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) confirmed production has climbed to 1.8 million bpd. Though an improvement, the figure still trails the government’s target of 2 million bpd and underscores the fragility of recent gains.
Lokpobiri stressed that regulators now have full backing of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to enforce licence revocations. “This is not just rhetoric. The law is on our side, and we will act,” he said, signalling that non-compliant companies face immediate consequences.
Industry watchers said the clampdown could unlock opportunities for new entrants willing to commit capital to exploration and field development. But they also cautioned that insecurity in the Niger Delta, pipeline vandalism, crude theft, and limited financing remain critical threats to production stability.
Lokpobiri countered that reforms, deeper security deployments, and new offshore projects will underpin the country’s efforts to stabilise production and gradually raise output toward 2 million bpd. He insisted that attracting credible investors to take over idle licences is now central to sustaining growth.