The Minister of state for Petroleum Resources, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri has attributed the low crude oil production in the first quarter of the year to issues with the Trans-Niger pipeline and maintenance activities by some oil companies.
The Minister in a statement said the issues have been resolved and the country would soon get to churning out 1.7 million barrels of oils daily.
Furthermore, the Minister noted that the federal government is currently working on policies geared towards maximizing the use of all available wells across the country in a bid to generate revenue to meet budget expenses and foreign exchange to stabilise the FX market.
He stated, “In response to recent concerns about a shortfall in our oil production during the first quarter of this year, I want to assure everyone that we’re taking decisive measures to address the situation. The reported shortfall was mainly due to issues on the Trans Niger Pipeline and maintenance activities by some oil companies.”
“I’m pleased to announce that we’ve resolved these issues, and production is expected to return to previous levels very soon. Our oil production, including condensate, which was at approximately 1.7 million barrels per day, will soon be restored.”
Backstory
Nigeria’s crude oil production for March dropped to 1.23 million bpd according to OPEC’s monthly oil market report. The figure makes it the third consecutive month the country’s average oil production will fall below the budget benchmark of 1.78 million bpd.
In January, Nigeria’s average daily oil production stood at 1.427 million bpd while that of February was lower at 1.32 million bpd. The dismal oil production for March led to Nigeria’s dethronement by Libya as Africa’s biggest oil producer.
Insights
Despite consistent rhethoric to boost oil production in the country, not much has been achieved in the past one year as the country’s oil production still falls below the budget benchmark and OPEC’s production quota.
- Recently, President Tinubu signed a raft of executive orders geared towards attracting investment and boosting productivity in the oil sector that has seen significant divestment from IOCs in the last few years. The current administration has voiced his intent to increase the country’s oil production to an ambitious 4million barrels daily by the end of the decade.
- In December, the oil cartel pegged Nigeria’s oil production quota at 5 million bpd after the country consistently failed to meet the group’s quota of 1.7 million barrels daily.
