Nigeria’s oil production is approaching 1.7 million barrels per day (mbpd), up from 1.28 mbpd in April, according to Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). This improvement comes despite ongoing challenges such as oil theft and vandalism.
Kyari revealed this progress during a stakeholders engagement between the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists and the NNPCL in Lagos on Saturday. He emphasized the need to address security issues to further increase production, highlighting that oil theft and vandalism significantly impact the nation’s crude oil output.
“How do you increase oil production? Remove the security challenge we have in our onshore assets. As we all know, the security challenge is real. It is not just about theft; it is about the availability of the infrastructure to deliver the volume to the market,” Kyari stated. He noted that over the last two years, NNPCL has removed more than 5,800 illegal connections from pipelines and dismantled over 600 illegal refineries.
Kyari also pointed out the economic inefficiency of current practices, such as barging and trucking petroleum products, which have become necessary due to pipeline vandalism. “Barging is not normal. Barging is not economical, even trucking. In 1991, we didn’t think of barging, even to put oil on the trucks. But that’s what we are doing today,” he explained.
However, he noted positive developments, saying, “The good news is, there is substantial work being done by the government… We are already seeing the results. As of today’s data, we’re inching to 1.7mbpd. We won’t celebrate this. On 17th of April 2020, our production, without doing anything, without drilling new wells, shot to 2.2mbpd. The difference was COVID-19. The thieves, the vandals, everybody went to sleep.”
Additionally, Kyari highlighted critical ongoing projects aimed at enhancing the country’s gas infrastructure. He mentioned the AKK pipeline, which is crucial for ensuring a stable gas supply, stating that only a 2.7 km river crossing remains to connect the east and west pipelines, a task expected to be completed by the end of May or June.
The President of NAPE, Abiodun Ogunjobi, underscored the importance of upgrading existing gas infrastructure and adding new ones for efficient gas production and utilization. George Osahon, Chairman of NAPE’s Board of Trustees, emphasized the significance of NNPCL in oil and gas exploration and urged support for technical training and research.
Chief Chamberlain Oyibo, the immediate Past BOT Chairman, called for the implementation of good policies and incentives to address the declining reserves and production, encouraging industry stakeholders to continue producing.
These measures, if sustained, are expected to stabilize and possibly boost Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, contributing significantly to the nation’s economy.
