Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Bayo Ojulari, has announced that the $2.8 billion Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline project has reached 72 percent completion stage as of the end of the first quarter of 2025.
According to Ojulari, who spoke at the 2025 Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum organized by the Society of Petroleum Engineers Nigeria in Abuja, the company has integrated technology to lower its production cost from the current average of $40 per barrel to achieve optimal results.
Represented by Udobong Ntia, Executive Vice President, Upstream, Ojulari stated that with substantial investments in energy infrastructure and technology, NNPC is actively shaping Nigeria’s energy future, adding that digitization, automation, artificial intelligence, and advanced analytics are transforming the entire energy value chain.
He said, “At NNPCL, we no longer see technology only as an enabler. It has now become a fulcrum. We have embraced digital transformation not as a buzzword but as an operational imperative. Digitisation, automation, artificial intelligence, and advanced analytics are redefining the entire energy value chain.
“These technologies are not optional extras. They are foundational to improving asset reliability, lowering lifting costs, and reducing greenhouse gas effects. At NNPC, we have embraced this reality with deliberate strategy. Our upstream subsidiary is deploying real-time reservoir monitoring, predictive maintenance, and AI-driven subsurface imaging to drive value and operational resilience,” he said.
Speaking further, the GCEO explained that you achieve net zero emissions by 2060, the company has initiated several gas-led transition programs including the expansion of autogas which target conversion of over one million vehicles by 2026.
“In alignment with Nigeria’s energy transition plan, which seeks to achieve net zero emissions by 2060, NNPC Limited has initiated several gas-led transition programs, including the expansion of our autogas program, targeting over 1 million vehicles through 2026, the completion of critical backbone infrastructure such as the AKK pipeline, which is about 72 per cent complete as we speak, first quarter 2025, and also the planned integration of green hydrogen feasibility studies into a long-term strategy.”
According to him, NNPC Limited, as an energy company also plays a key role in the power sector, contributing about 1,500MW of installed power capacity to the country with one 1,000MW of IPP JV phases one and two, 650 megawatts of firm JV and 50 megawatts made of emergency power plants.
In his remarks, Gbenga Komolafe, the Chief Executive officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, explained that the Commission is committed to its Project 1 Million Barrels per day production by 2026.
On the 2024 bid round and potential 2025 bid round, he said in pursuit of the goal to reach 4 million barrels of oil and 220 trillion cubic feet of gas, NUPRC has vigorously pursued strategies to enhance exploratory activities and accelerate development.
Represented by one of his commissioners, Enorense Amadasu, Komolafe said that of the awardees of the Petroleum Processing License, about 10 have began production.
“As part of these efforts, the Commission completed the 2024 bid licensing round with the award of 70 offshore petroleum prosperity licenses, BPS, and 70 additional offshore and offshore blocks.
“We are also preparing for the 2025 bid round as we implement the drill or drop philosophy in line again with the PIA and follow FIT’s administration mechanism of the PIA. I think about more than 10 of them are now in production. I think that’s a huge one for the country,” he said.
In her remarks, Amina Dalnmadami, Chairman SPE Nigeria Council, noted that since 1991, OLEF has stood as a symbol of dialogue, innovation, and policy engagement in Nigeria’s oil and gas landscape.
The event according to her commemorates the first commercial discovery of oil in Nigeria in Oloibiri, Bayelsa State—an event that forever changed the trajectory of the nation’s economic history.
She said that while this year’s global conversation may lean heavily toward renewables, “we know that oil and gas will remain central to Nigeria’s economic stability, energy security, and industrial growth for decades to come.
“The path to sustainability in our context is not one of displacement, but one of optimization—leveraging technology to drive efficiency, tightening our supply chains, and creating enabling policies to enhance sector resilience.”
In his remarks, Ahmed Galadima Aminu, Executive Secretary, Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTAD) explained that the conference reflects the country’s collective aspirations for sustainable energy growth through innovation, strategic partnerships, and capacity building.
He noted that since 2015, the Fund has remained a consistent supporter of the OLEF, recognising its strategic value as a platform for policy dialogue, stakeholder engagement, and forward-thinking discourse on energy development in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
