By Mary Izuaka

 

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has opened discussions with Indonesia on petroleum investments, as the Indonesian national oil company, Pertamina, signalled interest in Nigeria’s upcoming 2026 licensing round.

The talks followed a meeting between the Commission Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, Indonesia’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arif Havas Oegroseno, and Pertamina’s Vice President for Upstream Business Development, Toriq Abdat.

NUPRC Head, Media and Corporate Communications, Eniola Akinkuotu, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.

Ms Eyesan said both countries share similar priorities around energy security, resource utilisation and attracting investments.

The engagement comes as both countries push to raise crude oil production. Nigeria currently produces about 1.7 million barrels per day and targets 3 million barrels per day by 2030, while Indonesia produces about 600,000 barrels per day and aims to hit 2.3 million barrels per day by 2030, a target Jakarta says it cannot meet from domestic fields alone.

“We have been given a mandate to expand our business internationally; we are now in other countries outside Indonesia,” Mr Abdat said.

“In Indonesia, we are producing only around 600,000 barrels. We are working on exploration towards deepwater, but we found more gas than oil. That is why we go outside Indonesia, Malaysia, then the Middle East, Iraq and Nigeria.”

Mr Abdat said Pertamina is seeking producing assets or projects close to production, including opportunities available before a final investment decision (FID), and would consider both competitive bids and bilateral arrangements.

“We would like to be in projects with governments,” he said. “Producing assets, or near production, or before FID. Now we are looking at how we can help you reach the 3 million, and also help us provide more energy for our own consumption.”

Responding, Ms Eyesan said Nigeria’s production targets remain ambitious.

“We have very aggressive targets, 3 million barrels per day by 2030, and today we are at 1.6, 1.7,” she said. “We are committed to the objective and the licensing round is one of the strategies we are utilising.”

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She said licensing rounds have become a recurring exercise under the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, noting that the last commercial bid conference was held in July with 50 assets on offer and 37 awarded.

According to her, Nigeria has reset its fiscal terms in response to global competition for investment capital, including reducing entry barriers such as signature bonuses to incentivise investments.

The Indonesian delegation also said it is exploring opportunities beyond crude oil and gas. It disclosed that the national oil company is building a fertiliser plant to reduce dependence on Middle Eastern supply amid disruptions linked to global conflicts, noting the link between oil and gas and food security through phosphate and other fertiliser components.

Nigeria, on its part, said it is diversifying its phosphate sourcing, including a long-term transatlantic pipeline project with Morocco to serve West Africa, and has simplified fertiliser distribution rules that previously involved about 160 layers of regulation.

Both sides agreed to sustain commercial and diplomatic engagements in parallel.