Nigeria’s oil industry has been through years of setbacks, from pipeline vandalism to price crashes that drained capital budgets. But two of the country’s biggest independents are showing that recovery does not always start with billion-dollar frontier projects. Sometimes, it begins by simply going back to wells that were once written off.

That is the story behind the latest moves by Oando PLC and Seplat Energy, who are spearheading a revival of old wells to maximise existing infrastructure and squeeze fresh output from fields that had long been idle. The strategy is paying off with measurable gains and new momentum for Nigeria’s production targets.

Oando’s latest financial statement shows that the company has deliberately prioritised what it calls “low-hanging opportunities”, well reactivations, rig-less interventions, and flowline repairs. These quick fixes have already delivered what management described as “quick, capital-efficient production gains”.

The result: a 145 percent year-on-year jump in crude output, with production climbing to 9,012 barrels of oil per day in the first half of 2025. Much of that came from reactivating previously shut-in wells and improving plant reliability.

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Group CEO Wale Tinubu, in his mid-year market update, set out the company’s growth plan in unusually clear terms: accelerate upstream monetisation through drilling and production assurance, strengthen trading performance, and restructure capital to restore balance sheet flexibility.

With that roadmap, Oando says it is on track to hit a full-year target of 30,000 to 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, powered by three new wells and six more rig-less interventions in the second half of 2025. The company has budgeted between US$250 million and $270 million for drilling, infrastructure upgrades, and ESG projects to support the push.

Seplat Energy, meanwhile, has leaned heavily into its well restoration programme, which it calls one of the company’s most value-accretive strategies this year. In just the second quarter of 2025, Seplat worked over 19 idle wells, bringing the year’s total to 29. Of those, 22 wells were successfully restored to production, adding 14,900 barrels per day of gross capacity in the quarter alone.

Year-to-date, the programme has delivered 25,900 barrels per day of additional gross capacity from the 22 wells brought back online. The company reaffirmed its target of 50 well workovers from idle stock before the end of the year.

These are not abstract numbers. Nigeria’s crude oil production climbed to around 1.559 million barrels per day in July 2025, its highest level so far this year. Analysts point out that the figure, while still short of OPEC quota, reflects the impact of exactly these kinds of short-cycle, capital-efficient projects.

The strategy is not without its risks. Restored wells tend to decline faster than new ones, meaning operators will need to keep topping up gains to maintain output. Pipeline insecurity remains a constant threat, and capital is increasingly hard to raise without strict timelines and ESG credibility.

Yet, Oando and Seplat’s results show that disciplined workovers and targeted interventions can provide quick wins that buy time while larger structural fixes, new developments, secure evacuation corridors, and upgraded terminals are put in place.

Why it matters beyond the oil patch

For Nigeria, these developments are more than production statistics. Oil still accounts for the bulk of export earnings and government revenue, meaning every additional barrel helps to steady foreign exchange inflows and ease pressure on the naira. Onshore workovers also tend to employ more local contractors and service firms than offshore megaprojects, which means ripple effects for jobs and local supply chains.

There is also a psychological dimension. Investors and policymakers alike have grown weary of Nigeria’s oil sector underperforming year after year. Concrete results from Oando and Seplat send a signal that with the right strategy, independents can turn challenges into opportunities, and that the industry still has the tools to claw back output.

The bigger picture is clear: reviving old wells will not solve every problem, but it is a practical step that buys time, sustains jobs, and puts cash into government coffers while Nigeria works on deeper reforms. In a sector often defined by long delays and broken promises, quick wins matter.

And in 2025, they are arriving, one restored well at a time.

Meiza Nigeria