Oil Producers Getting Rapid Permits to Revive Old Nigeria Wells

Nigeria’s oil production fell to 1.31 million barrels per day in February.Photographer: Tom Saater/Bloomberg

Nigeria has slashed the time it takes to approve applications to revive idle oil wells from weeks to hours as Africa’s top crude producer seeks to take advantage of high energy prices.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission is approving permits within hours of application, according to people familiar with the process, who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak to the media.