• Nigeria can achieve 2.4mb/d, says minister
Nigeria has been charged to produce 4 million barrels of crude oil and condensate per day (4mb/d) or instantly hit an output of 2.4mb/d of crude as it did during the COVID 19 lockdown.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri gave the charge yesterday at the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) “Launch of Project 1 MBOPD Initiative”, in Abuja.
The ceremony marked the third anniversary of the establishment of the commission.
The 4mb/d will be in excess of 1.5mb/d quota from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which he said is not sufficient for a country of over 200million people.
He said, “The last OPEC meeting, we had some countries that were overproducing. And we’re busy talking to them and saying, why are you overproducing?
“ I want Nigeria to be one of those countries that are overproducing. So when I go to OPEC, I wil be arguing with them as to why Nigeria, a country of 220 million people, should be doing 4 million barrels per day.”
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Lokpobri said the target of 1mmb/d in the next 12 months to 24 months is not enough since the country has the capacity for 2.4mb/d, a feat it once attained.
According to him, the only snag on the way of the industry to hit the 2.4mb/d at the moment is evacuation owing to infrastructure challenges.
He said the country crude oil and condensate output is presently 1.7mb/d of crude oil and condensate.
Nigeria, said the NUPRC Chief Executive, Engr Gbenga Komolafe, is producing 1.6mb/d of crude oil and condensate today.
His words: “When I got the invitation from the NUPRC about the launching of this project One million barrels, I felt that they were not ambitious enough. Today we are doing about 1.7, inclusive of condensers.
“But I have always been told by the industry stakeholders, including the GCEO that during COVID, Nigeria did 2.4 million barrels.
During COVID, we don’t have any additional infrastructure. COVID was that many years ago.
“Those oil wells are still there. What are we doing now that is making us still underperform? What new investments do we need to make?
“ First of all, we can go back to 2.4 million barrels that Nigeria achieved during COVID. And I’ve always been told that the infrastructure is there. The problem is evacuation.”
Lokpobri was optimistic that Nigeria can produce the 1 mb/d in the next few months instead of waiting for 12 to 24 months.
He urged the industry players to table what it takes to achieve 2.4mb/d to the government that has already done its best.
He forecast hitting 3mb/d to 4m/d by the 50 anniversary, insisting project 1mb/d is unacceptable.
The minister said, “So today, my challenge to NUPRC is that, look, your project 1 million barrels in the next one to two years is unacceptable. Nigeria cannot wait another two years for us to add another 1 million barrels. That is too long.
“What do we do now that will take us back to where we were during COVID? What do we do now, so that by the time we come back for your 50th anniversary, we should be doing about 3-4 million barrels per day?”
He urged the industry players to table what it takes to achieve 2.4mb/d to the government that has already done all it should do.
Lokpobri also tasked the industry stakeholders to work assiduously to exceed the OPEC quota of 1.5mb/d as some other countries have always done.
Meanwhile, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu insisted that the stakeholders must work hard to shore up the country’s foreign exchange earnings.
Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, he described the project as a giant step that will make the country a crucial player in the energy industry.
He said increased oil output will culminate in more job opportunities, increased revenue for the government and a stable energy supply.
Tinubu urged the stakeholders to join hands for the realization of the project within the timeline.
Speaking, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), GCEO, Malam Mele Kyari said the Federal Government has been responding to all the challenges inhibiting crude oil production.
According to him, without replacing the aging infrastructure, the industry cannot evacuate its targeted output.
He pledged that NNPCL can contribute 90% of the 1MB project.
Earlier, Komolafe said Nigeria will in near term realize 60,000 bpd from the 2020 Marginal Oil Field bid transaction.
“It is anticipated that about 60,000 bopd and 90MMscfd of incremental oil and gas production will be realized from these assets in the near term,” he said.
According to him, a total of 50 Marginal fields have been converted to Petroleum Prospecting Licenses (PPLs), together with a minimum work programme that allows for early development and maturation of the assets.
Komolafe said within the three years of NUPRC oil and gas production have soared.
His words “Growth in Oil and Gas Reserves: Working with industry stakeholders, we have implemented initiatives to grow oil and gas reserves through studies and development activities to the current levels of 37.5 billion barrels of Oil and 209.26 trillion Cubic Feet of Gas, representing 30% and 33% of Africa’s oil and gas reserves, respectively…
“We are glad to report that with the concerted efforts of relevant stakeholders, production has grown from 1.2 million to 1.6 million bopd today.”
Heirs Holding Group, Chairman, Mr. Tony Elumelu said the firm has been addressing the industry challenges.
He disclosed that from the 28,000b/d in 2021, it has raised its output to over 50,000bpd.
He said, “At Heirs Energies, we are actively contributing to this solution.
“In the first 100 days after we took over operational control of our OML-17 asset in 2021, we doubled our production from 28,000 to over 50,000 barrels per day.”
Continuing, he recalled that the company suffered a setback with unabated crude theft, which caused us to shut-in and work collaboratively with the NNPC Limited to better secure the pipeline system.
He added that “From a low of 5% terminal receipts in December 2021, year-to-date in 2024, we have recorded an average terminal receipt of 85%; a remarkable improvement and a good example of what a purposeful collaboration between NNPCL and operators underpinned by rigorous execution can deliver.
“With the improvement in the operating environment, we have restarted our investment and production growth journey, and have now successfully reversed the fall in production that we suffered in 2022 and 2023, as a consequence of the evacuation challenges.
“A few days ago, OML-17 attained over 51,000 barrels per day, and we continue our production growth journey.”