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.”
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?”