Chevron Officials Meet NUPRC, Eye Participation in New Licensing Round

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Chevron Nigeria has hailed the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) as a business enabler even as it expressed intention to participate in the 2025 licensing round.

The Chairman and Managing Director of Chevron Nigeria/Mid-Africa Business Unit, Jim Swartz, gave the commendation when he visited the NUPRC’s corporate headquarters in Abuja, a statement by the spokesman of the commission, Eniola Akinkuotu, disclosed.

“We will participate in the next licensing round. Our intention is to continue to grow in Nigeria,” he added.

The Chevron boss hailed the Commission Chief Executive,  Gbenga Komolafe, for his visionary leadership and for ensuring that the Petroleum Industry Act is enforced to the letter.

“My assessment is that you have continued to support us. You have shown that Nigeria is a leader in this sector. Chevron specifically appreciates the enforcement of the willing buyer, willing seller provision. I am also happy about your position on decommissioning and abandonment which came up at the National Assembly recently,” he said.

Swartz described the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act as a watershed moment in Nigeria’s economic history.

He said the PIA – coupled with the style of the NUPRC’s enforcement – had restored predictability and made Nigeria an investment destination once more.

“The NUPRC listens. The NUPRC supports business. As a regulator, the NUPRC is transparent,” he stated, adding that Chevron has recorded zero incidents of sabotage in the last one year.

“Chevron has not recorded any oil theft or attacks on our pipelines this year. This is the longest we’ve gone without oil theft,” Swartz said.

Swartz revealed that TotalEnergies Nigeria had signed a farm-out agreement with Chevron for a 40 per cent stake in the PPL 2000 and PPL 2001 offshore exploration licences in Nigeria.

He said Chevron was looking to the NUPRC for a swift approval as it sought to develop the assets quickly.

The Chevron boss also disclosed some of the company’s goals for 2026, including plan’s to bring in a drilling rig in late 2026 on a newly discovered resource near Agbami as well as an extension of the lease of some assets which it is already developing.

In his remarks, the NUPRC helmsman, Komolafe, said Chevron’s decision to take part in the 2025 licensing round was evidence that Nigeria remained a key investment destination.

Komolafe called on other oil companies to emulate Chevron by coming out to share their testimonies as this would encourage potential investors.

He said although the 2024 licensing round was described as the most transparent in Nigeria’s history, the NUPRC was working to take it up a notch.

“We are committed to delivering a transparent licensing round which will even be better than that of 2024. It will be transparent and digital. Our portal has gone live and we have 50 fields on offer,” Komolafe said.

Komolafe also expressed delight over Chevron’s testimony that it had recorded zero incidents of oil theft in the last 12 months.

He said this was a reflection of an improved business environment provided by the President Bola Tinubu-led federal government and security agencies.

The NUPRC boss therefore called on investors to take advantage of Nigeria’s positive fiscal and regulatory environment.