The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, on Monday, expressed plans to produce two million barrels of crude oil per day in 2024.
It said this would significantly boost the 1.67 million barrels of oil and condensates currently produced daily and enable Nigeria to meet the two million bpd target set by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
“Our commitment is to produce at a rate of 2 million barrels per day, anytime from next year,” Chairperson of the NNPCL Board, Mr Pius Akinyelure, told State House Correspondents after President Bola Tinubu inaugurated the board at the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja.
However, Akinyelure admitted that meeting such a target would require overhauling Nigeria’s security architecture to address pipeline vandalism and other mechanisms deployed in oil theft.
“It is not an easy task, but we know we have the challenge of oil stealing, the vandalisation of our pipelines.
“But to do this, we have to overhaul our security architecture so that the incidences of stealing vandalisation of pipelines can be reduced.
“And this will possibly help to build up our cash flow. And we will become a better nation,” he explained.
Nigeria’s oil theft has plagued the country for decades, leading to significant economic losses and environmental degradation.
In 2022, Nigeria lost at least $2bn to oil theft, an inquiry by the Senate revealed in November of that year.
The Senate’s findings revealed that only 66 per cent of the country’s oil production could be “effectively guaranteed”.
It said the other 33 per cent was affected by theft and lost production “due to the third-party easy access on land terrain.”
A month after the Senate’s findings, then-National Security Adviser, Maj-Gen. Babagana Monguno (retd.), projected that the Federal Government may lose $23bn in 2023 if crude oil theft festers.
But speaking on Monday, Akinyelure said the board’s goal was, “To become number one in Africa and probably competing with leading oil and gas companies around the world.”
Afterward, the only female member on the board, Dr. Eunice Thomas (Akwa Ibom), told The PUNCH that the board has its eyes set on transiting Nigeria from fossil fuels to greener forms of energy.
Thomas said, “We will provide power for the people of Nigeria; we will industrialise the energy and transit from fossil fuel to more sustainable green energy.”
On the board’s inauguration, she said, “I am really challenged. But I would like to begin by thanking President Bola Tinubu for finding me worthy to sit on that board.
“I am aware of the challenges and his expectations of the board. I agree with the management of the NNPCL, they’ve done quite a lot so far and we will be working together with pleasure to increase productivity, improve the economy and sustain the environment.”
The board members inaugurated on Monday include Umar Ajiya as Chief Financial Officer, Ledum Mitee, Mr. Musa Tumsa and Mr. Ghali Muhammad as Non-Executive Directors.
Other Non-Executive Directors are Prof. Mustapha Aliyu, Mr. David Ogbodo and Ms. Eunice Thomas.
