ExxonMobil Corporation has said that crude oil production from the joint venture between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the international oil companies (IOCs) have declined by 47 per cent due to the inability of the federal government to provide its own funding through the NNPC,.
Speaking at the weekend in Lagos during a training workshop for journalists organised by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the General Manager in charge of Venture Relations at ExxonMobil, Mr. Victor Olaiya stated that while crude oil production from the joint venture projects is declining, output from the Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) is actually increasing. This is specifically because projects are funded solely by the IOCs under the PSCs, who also take all the risks associated with the projects.
Olaiya also revealed that Nigeria does not have a budget on how much the NNPC would contribute to the joint venture in 2015. He also added that by 2020, about one million barrels per day would be lost by the joint ventures because of inadequate funding.