The Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Mr Tony Elumelu, has emphasised the need for increased oil production to fund Nigeria’s economic diversification and development.
Speaking on Thursday at the Nigeria Petroleum Industry Leadership Discourse in Abuja, Elumelu highlighted the crucial role of oil revenues in driving industrialisation, energy security, and infrastructural growth.
The discourse, themed “Nigeria’s Oil Production Growth Roadmap: Acceleration Imperatives”, was convened under the aegis of Heirs Energies, a subsidiary of Heirs Holdings, to bring together industry stakeholders and policymakers to strategise on expanding oil production.
Elumelu, who is also the Chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Transcorp Group, stressed that despite global conversations around energy transition, Africa’s immediate priority must be energy security.
He stated that massive investment in oil and gas is necessary to power industries, support businesses, and ensure access to electricity for households and enterprises.
While acknowledging the growth in oil production under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, he noted that Nigeria is still underperforming compared to its OPEC quota.
“You know, under Buhari’s administration, we dropped less than 1 million barrels. We are happy that under the current administration, in general, we produce 1.8 million barrels of oil a day. But we are not satisfied with that figure.
“We want to take it to over 2 million. Because we know that we need oil money to diversify Nigeria away from oil. And we need to have the money to help develop our country,” he said.
Raising oil production to fund development
Elumelu highlighted the importance of increasing oil production as a means of generating foreign exchange, stabilising the naira, and improving national security.
He noted that boosting crude oil output would provide the financial resources required for industrialisation and infrastructure development, particularly in sectors such as power generation and manufacturing.
As Chairman of Transcorp Group, Elumelu revealed that Transcorp Power, Nigeria’s leading power generation company, currently has a capacity of 2,000 megawatts but is unable to operate at full capacity due to gas supply constraints.
Elumelu also called for stronger collaboration between government, industry players, and investors to achieve the target of increasing oil production to 2.5–2.7 million barrels per day. He noted that the policy reforms and executive orders signed by President Tinubu in the past 12 months have improved investor confidence, security, and the overall business climate in the oil sector.
Refining prospects
He further disclosed that When Heirs Energies acquired OML 17 from Shell, production was at 21,000 barrels per day.
- However, it has increased to 53,000 barrels per day. He added that the firm is targeting 100,000 barrels per day.
- He expressed optimism that Nigeria can surpass 2 million barrels per day if all stakeholders commit to expanding production, improving infrastructure, and securing oil facilities.
- Asked about plans for oil refining, Elumelu said that Heirs Energies intends to integrate downstream operations in the future, but its current focus remains on expanding crude oil production.
- He noted that once a company has crude oil, which is the raw material, transitioning into refining, fertiliser, and petrochemicals becomes easier.
On whether Nigeria’s oil production target of 2.5–2.7 million barrels per day is realistic, he said the goal is achievable if the industry prioritises production growth, security, and investment.
