The State Minister of Oil, Heineken Lokpobiri, has insisted that the country is producing 1.7 million barrels of crude oil daily including condensates.
Lokpobiri made this disclosure during a keynote speech at an energy summit on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said the oil production volume in the country has risen to 1.7 million barrels per day in the last one year, adding that the figures presented by OPEC did not capture condensates.
According to him, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) traditionally provides the total volume of oil production in the country, and the data presented by the commission to them is 1.7 million barrels as opposed to the 1.3 million barrels OPEC recorded.
“As a ministry, one of the things we have decided to focus on is to ramp up production. Today, we are producing about 1.7 million barrels per day inclusive of condensates.
“I don’t want anybody to be confused. OPEC doesn’t calculate condensates which is why the OPEC quota for Nigeria is 1.5 million barrels.
“Our ambition is to ramp up production. It’s only when we ramp up production that midstream and downstream can succeed. When I became Minister one year ago, we were doing barely 1 million barrels per day of crude oil. But today, we are doing 1.7 million barrels. And NUPRC is here. They are the ones who traditionally give us the numbers. They are giving us approximately 1.7 million barrels inclusive of condensates,” he said.
Nigeria not leaving OPEC
Meanwhile, Lokpobiri emphasized the importance of Nigeria’s continued membership in OPEC, stating that the country has no plans to exit the organization.
Instead, Nigeria aims to advocate for an increase in its production quota to approximately 2 to 3 million barrels per day.
He noted that he had advised Angola against leaving OPEC prior to its departure.
Lokpobiri added that oil is a global commodity, and being part of an international community is essential for effectively selling products on the global market.
“I’m in regular touch with my counterparts in other parts of the world. I told them that my ambition is to see how Nigeria will be the subject matter in November during the OPEC meeting.
“Last year, we were talking about whether Angola should leave OPEC. They were saying the quota given to them was not enough. Angola wanted maybe a little more than what they were given. But I was among those who told Angola to stay with OPEC. It’s either you’re part of OPEC or OPEC+. You must belong to one block. You can’t sell it in isolation. This is a market that is a global commodity.
“Anyways, Angola in its own wisdom left. Nigeria is not going to leave OPEC. We are committed to staying in OPEC and then arguing that OPEC increases our quota to 2 to 3 million barrels a day,” he said.
What you should know
The oil sector continues to be troubled by insecurity and low investment, exacerbated by the exit of international oil companies (IOCs) and unresolved issues regarding the approval of oil asset transfers.
Last month, the NNPCL declared a renewed effort to tackle the challenges hindering crude oil production, as output has stagnated over the past five months.
Nairametrics earlier reported that Nigeria’s crude oil production in the month of July rose to 1.307 million barrels of crude oil daily according to the monthly oil market report of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
According to the report, the country added 30 thousand barrels daily to its production when compared to the production figure for last month which stood at 1.276 million barrels daily in June 2024.
In addition, OPEC reported that Nigeria remained Africa’s largest oil producer. Libya followed closely, producing 1.175 million barrels per day in July.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, has repeatedly stated that the country aims to reach a daily production of two million barrels before the end of the year.
