Abuja — The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, has called for stronger collaboration across Nigeria’s energy sector, saying strategic partnerships are essential to unlocking Africa’s vast energy potential and driving investment, industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.
Ojulari made the call on Tuesday while delivering the keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 25th NOG Energy Week at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja.
The NNPC boss used the occasion to present a one-year performance scorecard, highlighting major operational, commercial and financial milestones achieved by the national oil company over the past year.
He disclosed that NNPC Ltd recorded an average crude oil export terminal recovery rate of 98 per cent across its five export terminals between April 2025 and May 2026, a significant improvement from the operational low of about one per cent recorded at the Bonny Oil and Gas Terminal in June 2022.
Ojulari also announced that Nigeria’s crude oil production has climbed to 1.71 million barrels per day, the highest level in five years, while NNPC Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL) achieved a record production of 365,000 barrels per day.
According to him, gas production has risen to 7.5 billion standard cubic feet per day following the successful completion of the River Niger crossing on the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline and the commissioning of the ANOH Gas Processing Plant.
He further stated that NNPC Ltd maintained 100 per cent compliance with all Joint Venture cash call obligations throughout 2025 and up to June 2026, while sustaining efforts to increase Nigeria’s crude oil production to two million barrels per day.
Highlighting the company’s commercial achievements, Ojulari said NNPC Ltd signed landmark Gas Sale and Purchase Agreements (GSPAs) covering 1.29 billion standard cubic feet per day for long-term LNG feed gas and 750 million standard cubic feet per day for domestic industrial gas supply to DFL FZE and Dangote Refinery.
He noted that the agreements are expected to attract more than 20 billion dollars in associated investments, with seven additional commercial transactions currently in the pipeline.
On corporate governance, Ojulari said the company resumed full monthly remittances to the Federation Account in July 2025, reinstated monthly business performance reporting and hosted its first-ever earnings call in November 2025 as part of efforts to strengthen transparency, accountability and investor confidence.
He urged stakeholders across the energy value chain to move beyond transactional engagements and embrace strategic partnerships capable of delivering integrated value chains and competitive industrial economies.
“At NNPC Limited, we see ourselves not just as an energy producer but as an ecosystem builder—connecting capital, technology, policy, talent and markets to create lasting value for Nigeria and Africa,” he said.
Ojulari described the energy industry as one of the world’s most interconnected sectors, stressing that no single organisation can unlock Africa’s enormous energy potential alone.
He identified fragmented collaboration among governments, investors, operators, regulators and other stakeholders as a major obstacle to Africa’s energy transformation despite the continent’s abundant oil, gas and renewable energy resources.
According to him, although Africa holds about 17 per cent of the world’s natural gas reserves, it continues to attract only a small share of global energy investment.
He therefore called on governments, national oil companies, investors, financiers, regulators, academia and service providers to work together in positioning Africa as a global destination for energy investment, technological innovation and value creation.
“The future of African energy will not be determined solely by the resources beneath our soil, but by the quality of the partnerships we forge above it. The opportunity before us is extraordinary. The responsibility is ours. And the time to act is now,” Ojulari said.
Now in its 25th year, NOG Energy Week remains Africa’s leading oil, gas and energy conference and exhibition, bringing together global energy leaders, policymakers, investors and innovators to shape the future of energy, sustainability and industrial development across the continent.
