The President of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Engr. Wole Ogunsanya, warned on Monday that underutilised local capacity, limited drilling activities, and funding shortages threaten Nigeria’s plans to boost crude oil output to two million barrels per day (bpd) by 2027 and three million bpd by 2030.
Ogunsanya spoke at the Nigerian Content Seminar, held on the sidelines of the ongoing Nigerian Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week, during a strategic panel session on “Nigerian Content as an Investment Enabler.”
He noted that Nigeria developed strong local capabilities across drilling, fabrication, and supply chain services, but much of this capacity remains idle because of reduced investments and a weak project pipeline.
“We have adequate equipment and in-country capacity to achieve up to three million barrels per day. The challenge is how to fully utilise this capacity,” Ogunsanya said.
He stressed that increased drilling across onshore, shallow water, and offshore assets, together with steady capital inflow, remains essential to meet the targets.
The PETAN chief highlighted a mismatch between the country’s expanding refining capacity including the Dangote Refinery and rehabilitated Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri facilities and sluggish upstream performance.
He pointed out that operators sometimes lose up to 70 percent of production, which discourages fresh investments.
“Investors will be reluctant to commit funds where production losses are significant.
We must address these structural issues to unlock growth,” he added.
On financing, Ogunsanya praised over $20 billion in local content interventions by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), which supported drilling and fabrication projects.
He called for more targeted funds for critical equipment and new projects to improve equipment utilisation and deepen indigenous capabilities.
He emphasised that a stronger project pipeline will boost production, optimise existing assets, and help Nigeria strengthen its position in the regional and global oil and gas market.
