By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has said that ramping up the nation’s crude oil production from the current 1.7 million barrels per day to 3 million barrels per day is achievable.
the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the NNPC, Mr Olufemi Soneye, said at a stakeholders’ engagement session with Senate correspondents in Abuja that the feat is attainable with support from all stakeholders.
“3 million barrels of oil production per day is achievable in Nigeria if all stakeholders work in synergy, from government and private security agencies to oil companies and host communities,” Mr Soneye stated.
He attributed the potential for increased production to the political will demonstrated by President Bola Tinubu, who has issued directives to relevant security agencies to combat oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
According to Mr Soneye, these efforts have contributed to a rise in daily oil production from 1.4 million to 1.7 million barrels.
He added that with a collaborative effort against oil theft and pipeline vandalism, an enabling environment could be created to support optimal oil production levels of 2.5 to 3 million barrels per day.
“With expected synergy from all the relevant stakeholders on war against oil theft and pipeline vandalism, the required enabling environment would be in place for optimal oil production to the volume of 2.5 to 3 million barrels per day,” he said.
He pointed out that there was a time when oil production went down to 900,000 barrels per day in the country before the involvement of private security agencies and renewed efforts of the military.
“At that time, we felt Nigeria was in trouble regarding oil theft, but the intensified fight against it has alleviated our concerns,” he said.
In a PowerPoint presentation on the menace of crude oil theft and its impact on Nigeria’s economy, the Deputy Manager for NNPC Command and Control Centre, Mr Murtala Muhammad, noted that the crime of oil theft remains a serious concern.
He said that over 8,000 illegal refineries and 5,800 illegal oil pipeline connections were detected and destroyed within the last six months.
He listed Bayelsa, Rivers, Imo, and Abia States as hotspots for this criminal activity.
