The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited plans to develop new oil fields from next year and seeks to raise at least $30 billion by the end of the decade.
According to Bloomberg, this was disclosed by senior officials familiar with the plans in the country which is Africa’s largest oil producing nation.
The state-owned oil firm is raising the money as part of efforts to reverse years of underinvestment that have left several discoveries undeveloped, the people said, without disclosing the new fields being targeted.
The publication revealed that the NNPC expects significant investment decisions to come through next year, according to the people who declined to be identified because the talks involve confidential commercial matters.
The sources also said the NNPC is also reviewing its portfolio and plans to sell non-performing fields, adding that the firm will likely meet more than half of its fundraising target.
The energy company plans to develop some of the fields in-house and is expected to call for bids early next year, the people said.
NNPC also plans to boost oil output by 5 per cent to 1.8 million barrels per day next year compared with 2025 and is targeting 4 million barrels of daily output by 2030.
It also targets the completion of the $2.8 billion Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline, connecting various segments to the main line from early next year, one of the people said.
Once ready, the pipeline will deliver gas at scale to parts of northern Nigeria including the capital of Abuja, supplying industrial parks, fertilizer plants and power-generation facilities.
Recall that the chief executive of the NNPC, Mr Bashir Ojulari, recently said the country would begin to export gas from the $2.8 billion Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline from early 2026.
First conceived in 2008, the AKK pipeline is central to Nigeria’s ambition to leverage its vast gas reserves for economic growth. Its completion could transform the north, where chronic power shortages and a lack of energy infrastructure have stifled manufacturing for decades.