Nigeria’s Oil Production Steadies At 2.3mbpd, Says NNPC
Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, says Nigeria’s current crude oil production is steady at 2.3million barrels per day including condensates, an increase from the 2.1mbpd recorded at the end of 2018.
Baru also disclosed that the corporation in compliance with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the government has reduced the cost of crude oil production per barrel from $27 to $22, with a commitment to drive it further down.
Speaking during a meeting with the leadership of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Abuja, he noted that the Corporation was working round the clock to rid the Federal Government of the huge financial burden of Cash-Call commitment by developing workable alternative funding arrangements.
“The NNPC is increasing crude oil production through its flagship Upstream Company, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC). The NPDC in 2016 was producing just 65,000 barrels per day equity but as at today, the company is producing 166,000 barrels per day equity but overall production of the company is about 300,000 bpd,” Baru informed.
He said the NPDC was the main supplier of gas to the power sector, stressing that the Corporation was currently producing 1.5million standard cubic feet of gas making NNPC the largest supplier of gas to power.
He noted that the Corporation had recorded enormous saving of $1.2bn through its Direct Sale Direct Purchase (DSDP) scheme adopted for petroleum products imports. He added that through the DSDP scheme, the Corporation has succeeded in ensuring steady supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country.
On transparency, Baru said the Corporation’s drive for openness in its financial operations have yielded much fruits leading to the attraction of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) which have bolstered the national economy.
According to him, the Corporation has instituted a regime of transparent contracting and bidding processes in all its major projects with the full participation of Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Nigerian Content Monitoring and Development Board (NCDMB), Bureau of Public Enterprises and a host of other civil society organisations interested in transparency.
He however, called on members of the NUJ to join the Corporation is naming and shaming cross-border smugglers of petroleum products saying their activities cause hardship for Nigerians and rob the nation of huge sums of money.
He also urged the NUJ to support the NNPC in educating and discouraging people from indulging in illegal refining of petroleum products as it pollutes the air with soot, destroys aquatic lives and the entire ecosystem.
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