Nigeria has taken a major step toward tightening control over its crude oil production with the launch of the country’s first gravimetric oil metering calibration facility in Eket, Akwa Ibom State.
The facility was inaugurated by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission as part of broader efforts by the Federal Government to curb crude oil theft, reduce revenue leakages, and improve transparency across the upstream petroleum sector.
Designed to test and certify oil flow meters used by producers and exporters, the new centre ensures that crude oil volumes are measured with high precision. Regulators say this will help eliminate long-standing discrepancies in production and lifting figures that have cost the country significant revenue over the years.
According to the commission, accurate metering is critical as Nigeria works to optimise crude output and strengthen earnings amid ongoing reforms in the oil and gas industry. The Eket facility is the first of its kind not only in Nigeria but across West Africa, ending decades of reliance on overseas laboratories for meter calibration.
Speaking at the commissioning, the Commission Chief Executive of the NUPRC, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, described the project as a major leap forward for the industry. Represented at the event by Manuel Ibituroko, the commission’s Deputy Director for Development, Eyesan said the facility is built with advanced automation, tamper-proof systems, and high-precision standards aimed at reducing human interference and operational downtime.
The plant can calibrate a wide range of flow meters, including turbine, ultrasonic, Coriolis, electromagnetic, and positive displacement meters. These devices are critical for determining the volume of crude oil transported through pipelines and export terminals.
The calibration centre was developed by Engineering Automation Technology Limited, an indigenous firm. Its Managing Director, Emmanuel Okon, said the project was inspired by Nigeria’s local content drive, which encouraged indigenous companies to build technical capacity within the country.
Okon explained that the facility uses traceable international standards, automated data capture, and certified uncertainty measurements, allowing regulators, auditors, and operators to rely on a single verified dataset for production and revenue reconciliation.
Regulators believe the centre will help plug revenue losses, strengthen reserves management, and improve the collection of royalties and taxes.
By eliminating the need to ship equipment abroad for calibration, the facility is also expected to save costs, reduce delays, and conserve foreign exchange.
Beyond revenue gains, the NUPRC said the project will boost investor confidence by providing verifiable production data, support the fight against crude oil theft, and create skilled jobs within the host community while deepening Nigeria’s technical expertise in petroleum measurement.
The project was executed under NUPRC oversight with support from the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board and other industry stakeholders, ensuring that calibration certificates issued by the facility meet statutory and regulatory requirements
