The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) is set to implement a new Production Sharing Contract (PSC) framework aimed at unlocking as much as $50 billion in deep offshore oil and gas investment, in one of the most significant policy shifts for Nigeria's upstream sector in recent years.
The move is expected to restructure how international and indigenous oil companies negotiate and operate offshore production agreements with the federal government, with officials framing it as a way to make Nigeria's deep offshore assets more commercially competitive against other oil-producing nations courting the same pool of global investment.
The announcement comes alongside separate news that President Bola Tinubu has signed a tax remission presidential order specifically targeting Nigeria's deep offshore oil projects, suggesting a coordinated push to make the sector more attractive at a moment when global capital for fossil fuel exploration has grown more selective.
Industry watchers say the real test will be implementation: previous reform efforts in Nigeria's oil sector have often been slowed by regulatory uncertainty and disputes between operators and the government over contract terms. NNPC has not yet released a detailed timeline for when the new framework will take effect.