The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has set the first quarter of 2027 as the deadline for the completion of its new Abuja headquarters, known as “The Barrel.”
The 10-storey facility, located in Abuja’s Central Business District, is expected to bring the Commission’s operations under one roof and accommodate between 900 and 1,000 people.
During an inspection of the project, NUPRC Board Chairman, Senator Magnus Abe, said the Commission’s current arrangement, with departments operating from different locations, was inconvenient and damaging to Nigeria’s image before major investors.
He said companies seeking to make multibillion-dollar investments in Nigeria should not have to move across Abuja to engage different departments of the industry regulator.
Abe said the completion of the headquarters would improve operational efficiency, provide a central location for industry engagements and strengthen investor confidence in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
NUPRC Commission Chief Executive, Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, directed the contractor, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, to accelerate work and deliver the project by the first quarter of 2027.
The new headquarters project was initiated in 2020 and features a distinctive barrel-shaped design inspired by the petroleum industry. Julius Berger, which is constructing the facility, said it would make efforts to meet the new deadline.
