The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC Ltd, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, has called for deeper collaboration across Nigeria’s energy industry, saying stronger partnerships are critical to unlocking Africa’s vast energy resources, attracting investment, accelerating industrialisation and driving sustainable economic growth.
Ojulari made the call while delivering the keynote address at the opening of the 25th NOG Energy Week at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja.
He also presented a one-year performance scorecard, highlighting the operational, commercial and financial milestones recorded by NNPC Ltd under his leadership.
According to a statement issued on Tuesday by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd, Andy Odeh, the company recorded an average recovery rate of 98 per cent across its five crude oil 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 disclosed that Nigeria’s crude oil production has increased 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.
He added that gas production rose 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.
The NNPC boss further revealed that the company maintained 100 per cent compliance with 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.
He said NNPC Ltd also 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.
According to him, the agreements are expected to attract more than 20 billion dollars in associated investments, while seven additional commercial transactions are currently being negotiated.
Ojulari also announced that NNPC Ltd 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, measures he said underscore the company’s commitment to transparency, accountability and investor confidence.
He urged stakeholders across the energy value chain to move beyond transactional relationships towards strategic partnerships, integrated value chains and greater value addition, rather than the continued export of raw resources.
“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 energy potential alone.
He identified fragmented collaboration as one of the major constraints to the continent’s energy transformation, citing weak linkages among resource owners, operators, investors, policymakers, financiers and innovators as factors limiting growth.
Despite Africa accounting for about 17 per cent of global natural gas reserves, alongside abundant oil and renewable energy resources, he noted that the continent still attracts only a fraction of global energy investment.
He therefore called on governments, national oil companies, investors, regulators, financial institutions, academia and service providers to strengthen collaboration and position Africa as a global destination for energy investment, technology 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.
NOG Energy Week, now in its 25th edition, is Africa’s leading oil, gas and energy conference and exhibition, bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, investors and innovators to chart the future of energy, sustainability and industrial development across the continent.
