Nigeria’s government has raised its oil production target for the national oil company to 2.5 million barrels per day by the end of this year.
Heineken Lokpobiri, Nigeria’s petroleum resources minister, told The Sun at the Oil Technology Conference Africa Energy Forum that he increased the target from 2 million barrels per day, which was initially set by the president.
Lokpobiri said hitting the new goal is achievable because Nigeria reached similar production levels during the pandemic, despite limited investments at that time.
He added that “all the bottlenecks against our oil production are being addressed,” making the target realistic.
However, Nigeria has not produced 2 million barrels per day in over a decade. Its highest production was near that figure in 2016, but output has steadily declined since then. Pipeline vandalism and oil theft have deterred much-needed investments, while major oil companies have reduced their presence, focusing on more promising regions.
Still, Exxon recently announced plans to invest $1.5 billion in deepwater oil development in Nigeria. The funds will support the Usan deepwater oilfield from 2025 to 2027, according to Nigeria’s Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
Lokpobiri also said the government is tackling pipeline vandalism and oil theft in the Niger Delta to boost production.
The only remaining challenge is Nigeria’s OPEC+ production limits. But with Saudi Arabia recently shifting from controlling production to increasing it, Nigeria may benefit from more flexible output rules.
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