The new leadership of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has pledged to deepen collaboration with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) towards achieving Nigeria’s target of producing three million barrels of crude oil per day by 2030.
The newly elected President of PENGASSAN, Comrade Bosun Olabiyi-Agoro, made the commitment in Abuja on Wednesday when he led members of the association on a visit to the corporate headquarters of the NUPRC.
The visit was disclosed in a statement issued by the NUPRC’s Head of Media and Corporate Communications, Eniola Akinkuotu.
Olabiyi-Agoro said the union was ready to work with the regulatory commission and other stakeholders in the oil and gas industry to support the Federal Government’s production target.
According to him, the three-million-barrels-per-day ambition is one that requires the collective efforts of all stakeholders in the petroleum sector.
“The President of Nigeria has an ambition which he runs through the CCE, which is to make sure that by 2030 we are able to produce 3 million barrels per day.
“All of us have to work to make that happen. It will be our happiness to make sure that that target is actually attained,” he said.
He added, “We can assure you that we are here to collaborate. We will be very reasonable.”
The PENGASSAN President, however, stressed that while the union remained open to negotiations and constructive engagement, the rights of workers to freely associate and join the union remained non-negotiable.
He also identified contract staffing as one of the key issues his administration would address which he said reflects the union’s intention to place workers’ welfare and industrial relations among its priorities.
Responding, the Commission Chief Executive of the NUPRC, Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said the Federal Government was intensifying efforts to increase crude oil production and attract fresh investments into the petroleum sector.
Eyesan said the administration of President Bola Tinubu had taken steps to boost production, citing the latest executive order targeted at stimulating investments in deep offshore oil operations.
She noted that the country’s crude oil production had increased from a low of about 1.1 million barrels per day a few years ago to an estimated 1.755 million barrels per day in 2026.
The NUPRC chief executive, however, emphasised that sustained industrial stability would be critical to achieving higher production levels and urged PENGASSAN to support efforts aimed at creating a stable operating environment in the industry.
“As you settle into your new role, be assured that the commission will give you 150 per cent cooperation. In addition to the support we will give you, we want to ask that we work very closely to actualise government objectives,” Eyesan said.
She said the government was targeting not only increased crude oil production but also significant growth in gas output.
“We want to grow production from our current level to 3 million barrels in 2030. For gas, we are still doing under 8bcf and we want to grow that to 12bcf by 2030. So, let’s make that happen,” she stated.