More Fuel for Nigeria as FG Is Set to Increase Crude Oil Production by 30% by Year-End
- Nigeria expects a 30% increase in crude and condensate output by year end to attract investors
- This is as authorities strengthen security around the nation’s oil infrastructure and incentives in the sector
- The industry regulator Increased output would bring it closer to or above the 1.5 million barrels per day quota
Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
Nigeria anticipates a 30% growth in crude and condensate output as authorities bolster security around the country's oil infrastructure and incentives in the sector attract investment. This is despite the possibility that the gain may exceed its OPEC+ pledge to limit production.
Source: Getty Images
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission predicts that output will increase from 1.54 million barrels per day in September to 2 million barrels per day by the end of the year.
Enorense Amadasu, executive commissioner for the Abuja-based agency said at a conference in Lagos on Monday,
“As at today the country’s crude oil production plus condensate is 1.8 million barrels per day and we’re pushing, working with everyone to increase it to two million barrels a day before December.”
A higher level would bring output closer to or above the 1.5 million barrel per day quota that Nigeria and OPEC+ agreed not to exceed, even if the regulator did not provide the percentage of crude to condensate in its prediction.
The production curbs were put in place by the 23-nation organization in order to prevent a surplus and support crude prices. Bloomberg reported that not every member has adhered to the strategy.
The group's leadership has put pressure on members, including Russia, Kazakhstan, and Iraq, to fully execute the output cutbacks they committed to at the beginning of the year and to further reduce compensation for overproduction.
In the oil-rich Niger Delta, widespread theft and vandalism, as well as a lack of investment, have kept Africa's biggest oil producer below its OPEC+ quota for more than two years.
The administration of President Bola Tinubu has attempted to attract investors to the industry by providing tax incentives to producers and authorizing the sale of pending assets.
In an effort to boost production even more, the upstream regulator plans to put 31 oil and gas blocks covering the nation's onshore and offshore acreage up for bid, Amadasu stated without providing a timeframe.
“These blocks have been carefully selected for its potentials to boost our reserves and stimulate economic activities,” he said.
However, it appears Nigerians are more concerned about the increasing cost of fuel wich is causing inflation and hardship for many.
Emmanuel Ogba said,
"I think that the most important thing for us Nigerians is being able to buy fuel at a really affordable price. Whatever policies and development not geared towards this directioon is not of utmost concerns to Nigerians."
Oil firm announces billion dollar investment
Legit.ng reported that Patrick Pouyanne, the president and chief executive officer of TotalEnergies global, said the company was prepared to participate in the current oil bid round in Nigeria and invest billions of dollars there.
This was recently said by Pouyanne during a visit to Gbenga Komolafe, the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, at the commission's headquarters in Jabi, Abuja.
A few months prior, The Punch reported that the CEO claimed that he had chosen to invest $6 billion in Angola over Nigeria.
Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng
Source: Legit.ng
