The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPC, has said it will increase its oil production rate to two million barrels per day by the end of 2024.
The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari, made this known yesterday.
According to Kyari, who spoke during a meeting with Maritime Stakeholders at the Nigerian Navy Headquarters yesterday, the Nigerian oil industry has recently experienced significant strides, including the reduction of issues that bothered oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
According to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, this is believed to have contributed to Nigeria’s recent surge in crude oil production, which reportedly rose from 1.27 million barrels per day to 1.6 million in July of the same year.
The NNPC boss, represented by the Managing Director of Pipeline NNPC, Folorunsho Karim, said he hoped the target would be met, and he emphasised that the NNPC was fully committed to achieving its goals.
He further urged security agencies to endeavour to achieve their respective goals in a bid to help the corporation achieve its goal and extensively contribute to nation-building.
He said, “The target is to increase production to two million barrels by the end of the year, and we are fully committed to doing that. I appreciate the support of the Nigerian Navy in making this possible.
“They have been providing significant support, which has resulted in a reduction in oil theft. Pipeline vandalism has also decreased significantly, and a lot is currently happening in the industry. We hope to sustain this progress to achieve our target of two million barrels per day by the end of the year.”
Also at the event, which was held in Abuja, was the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, who acknowledged Nigeria’s trying moments in the midst of a dwindling economic situation, among other odds, and stated that the government must devise unconventional approaches if the prevailing social and economic vices in the country are to be adequately checked.
According to him, the Navy was doing everything possible within its ambits to ensure that security challenges that align with its duties, including violent agitations, oil theft, pipeline vandalism and piracy/sea robbery, which have prevailed over the past few decades, were appropriately addressed without any effects on businesses.
While noting that these issues were driven by the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, communal clashes, poverty and unemployment, Ogalla said:
“The traditional methods of addressing these security challenges have not yielded the desired results. Hence, the meeting also aimed to address emerging security issues arising from implementing the Petroleum Industry Act.
“The Federal Government’s drive to develop the nation’s blue economy requires the support of all stakeholders.”
He added that, “Providing security is a way to promote ease of doing business because if there is no security, operators cannot function.
“We also ensure that our arrests and detentions do not impede legitimate business operators. When we make arrests, we conduct preliminary investigations quickly and release vessels if the information is found to be incorrect, so as not to disrupt businesses. This is our general contribution.
“We aim to promote ease of doing business by ensuring our operations and patrols do not create problems for operators. Instead, we support them by assuring them of protection from criminal elements who seek to disrupt business activities in Nigeria.”
