LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – The Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has declared a state of emergency on crude production in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
The move is to ensure the country conveniently produce two million barrels of crude oil per day.
This was disclosed in a statement by the spokesperson, NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Mr. Mele Kyari said that the war against oil theft has just begin.
He spoke at the opening ceremony of the 23rd edition of the Nigeria Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition (NOG Energy Week) themed, “showcasing opportunities, driving investment and meeting energy demand,” in Abuja.
In a move towards increasing Nigeria’s crude oil production and growing its reserves, Kyari said, “We have decided to stop the debate. We have declared war on the challenges affecting our crude oil production. War means war. We have the right tools. We know what to fight. We know what we have to do at the level of assets. We have engaged our partners. And we will work together to improve the situation.”
READ ALSO: NNPC Debunks Rumour Of “Lubricants-for-Petrol” At Salespoint
The GCEO explained that a detailed analysis of assets revealed that Nigeria can conveniently produce two million barrels of crude oil per day without deploying new rigs, but the major impediment to achieving that remains the inability of players to act in a timely manner.
He said the “war” will help NNPC Ltd. and its partners to speedily clear all identified obstacles to effective and efficient production such as delays in procurement processes, which have become a challenge in the industry.
On medium to long-term measures aimed at boosting and sustaining production, Kyari said “NNPC Ltd. would replace all the old crude oil pipelines built over four decades ago and also introduce a rig sharing programme with its partners to ensure that production rigs stay in the country for between four and five years which is the standard practice in most climes.
He called on all players in the energy sector to collaborate towards reducing the cost of production and boosting production to target levels.
He expressed the Company’s commitment to investing in critical midstream gas infrastructure such as the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipelines to boost domestic gas production and supply for power generation, industrial development and economic prosperity of the country.
On Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Kyari said that NNPC Ltd. has since keyed into the Presidential CNG drive, adding that in conjunction with partners such as NIPCO Gas, NNPC Ltd. has built a number of CNG stations, 12 of which will be commissioned on Thursday in Lagos and Abuja.