Trending 
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has documented a total of 732 incidents of oil spills in 2024, with sabotage being the cause of almost 60 per cent of these incidents.
This information comes from the commission’s 2024 annual report, which was published per the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) of 2021, requiring the submission of annual operational and financial reports to the Minister of Petroleum Resources by March 31 of the following year.
The report indicates that sabotage was responsible for 59.01 per cent of the reported spills.
As of January 1, 2024, Nigeria’s reserves of crude oil and condensate were recorded at 37.50 billion barrels, reflecting a 1.45 per cent increase from the previous year’s 36.10 billion barrels. Gas reserves also saw a minor rise of 0.21 per cent, reaching 209.26 trillion cubic feet (TCF) compared to 208.83 TCF in 2023. The total production of crude oil and condensate for the year amounted to 578.52 million barrels, which comprised 482.82 million barrels of crude oil and 95.70 million barrels of condensate.
The average daily production was 1.58 million barrels per day (bpd), consisting of 1.32 million bpd of oil and 261,430 bpd of condensate. Nonetheless, this production accounted for only 67 per cent of the technical allowable rate (TAR) established for the year. Gas production showed a slight increase, with a utilisation rate of 92%.
According to the report, the total gas production for 2024 reached 2.511 TCF, with an average daily output of 6.86 billion cubic feet per day (BCF/D). Associated gas constituted 3.92 BCF/D (57.2 per cent), while non-associated gas represented 2.94 BCF/D (42.8 per cent).
Out of the total gas produced, 92.26 per cent, or 2.317 TCF, was utilised. Approximately 0.193 TCF (7.64 per cent) was flared, while 0.003 TCF (0.10 per cent) was noted as shrinkage.
The commission reported total revenue of ₦12.25 trillion for 2024, which marks a 76.74 per cent increase compared to the projected ₦6.93 trillion.
NUPRC’s approved budget for the year was ₦286.94 billion, with actual revenues reaching ₦281.34 billion. Expenditures were reported at ₦191.12 billion.
The report highlights that six regulatory cases were successfully resolved during the year. It also confirms that the 2024 licensing round will proceed in alignment with the PIA, aiming to attract new investors into Nigeria’s promising petroleum basins.
