Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, has said the country is experiencing a shortfall of three million barrels per day (mbpd).
He attributed the shortfall to critical major delivery infrastructure deficiencies and pressing energy security challenges that had hampered the nation’s ability to meet its production targets.
Kyari disclosed that at the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) and NNPC stakeholders’ engagement in Lagos. He said that if Nigeria managed to produce 2.45 million barrels per day (mbpd) in April 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when there were no energy security issues due to the lockdown, then with effective management of security challenges, the country’s production would ramp up from the current 1.7 mbpd to the targeted 3mbpd. He expressed optimism that the national crude reserves would increase to 40 billion barrels and that the country’s oil production would reach 3mbpd.
Recall that in 2022, NNPC confirmed that the country lost about 470,000 barrels of crude oil, amounting to $700 million, due to oil theft. In April of the same year, Kyari stated that the country lost $1.5 billion as pipeline vandalism escalated.
He said: “There’s still undersupply of three billion barrels per day of oil in the market. And that’s why nobody is seeing 60 to 70 dollar oil in the market in the next two or three years. And some estimates have actually said that nobody would see below 80 dollar average in the next 24 months. So, that’s why everybody is rushing, activities are going on all over the world, there are 60 rigs in UAE alone currently operating. But we’re doing something about it. Because once you have the assurance that your production will get to market, then you can get people to put money into drilling,”
Also, Kyari announced a plan to transport eight billion stock of gas daily through an extensive pipeline network within the next four years. He stressed that it’s part of the company’s strategy to enhance the country’s gas infrastructure, energy security and boost supply.
According to him, the AKK pipeline is a key element in the discussion about developing the infrastructure needed to ensure supply. He emphasised that the only remaining task to connect the East and West is a 2.7 km river crossing. He said it would be completed by the end of May or in June, enabling the flow of gas from the East to the West.
President of NAPE, Abiodun Ogunjobi, said for efficient gas production and utilisation, the upgrade of existing and additional of infrastructures was needed for the development system.
Chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT), NAPE, George Osahon, stressed the importance of NNPC as the propagator of oil and gas exploration in Nigeria.
Immediate past BOT Chairman, Chief Chamberlain Oyibo, stated that as the nation’s reserve and production were declining, there was the need for implementation of good policies and incentives for improvement.
